Digimon 02: Epoch
by Psycho G
Summary: Multi-billionaire business titan Davis Motomiya and Veemon fell through a time-space dimensional vortex that landed them 19 years into past. Being unable to return to their original timeline, how will Davis and Veemon handle being forced to relive the past while being the only ones that know and remember what and how events took place?
1. Chapter One: Reset

**Chapter One: "Reset"**

* * *

(Unknown Location)

Davis grunted and stirred. He felt soreness momentarily run through his body as his body was trying to readjust to his new predicament.

"My head," Davis said groggily, "What the hell happened?"

"Davis you squirt! Wake up!" came a most familiar female voice.

"What the…?" Davis said as he now identified the voice to be Jun's. When his eyes finally adjusted and got the blurriness out of them, they widened in absolute disbelief when he realized where he was.

"What the hell is going on?" Davis asked in an undertone as he sat up on what he now realized was his old bed, "What am I doing back in my old room?"

There was a loud bagging sound that started coming from the door outside.

"Squirt! Wake up or you'll be late for school again!" Jun yelled from the other side of the door.

"School!?" Davis shouted before standing up out of bed, finding that he was in his old pajamas used he used to wear many years ago. He quickly ran to the mirror and found a shocking sight.

 _'I'm eight years old again!'_ Davis mentally screamed in a panic. He tried pinching himself hard several times to confirm whether or not he was dreaming or in some kind of illusion created by some Digimon. For a certainty he felt every pinch he gave himself and the pain that came from them.

"Davis!" came a new voice Davis now identified as DemiVeemon who was sitting on his bed. The now eight-year-old boy turned to his blue in-training form partner who was holding his D3 and D-Terminal.

"Davis what happened?" DemiVeemon asked in confusion.

"I'm trying to figure that out myself," Davis replied as he went over to his partner and took his D3 from him, "The last thing I remember was us being trapped in that collapsing cave before we jumped into that mysterious vortex that somehow took us back 19 years into the past; except I'm now eight years old again!"

"So far I still remember everything," DemiVeemon said and then asked, "What about you?"

"The only things that changed is my age and sadly my height," Davis replied.

"Well this is no illusion, otherwise we would have detected it and gotten ourselves out of it," DemiVeemon commented.

"I know," Davis agreed, "This isn't like what happened when we battled MaloMyotismon years ago. Speaking of which, what day is it today?"

Davis hurried to the calendar to see what day it was. Upon checked the calendar, he was shock to see what day it was.

"This is exactly one month after the Digimon invasion with Myotismon and his minions attacking Odaiba when they came searching for Kari," Davis realized. A knock came from the door again.

"Davis!" Mrs. Motomiya called out, "It's time to wake up young man! Hurry up!"

Davis turned to DemiVeemon and remarked, "And not too long ago you asked me if I ever wanted a second chance in life to do things differently."

DemiVeemon shrugged sheepishly before Davis made his way towards the door. He stepped out of the room and looked to see his mother and older sister in the kitchen. Feelings of nostalgia started flowing through Davis' being.

 _'It almost feels like a dream,'_ Davis thought. Mrs. Motomiya looked at her son and said, "Hurry up and clean yourself up. You have to get ready to leave for school soon."

 _'This is so bizarre,'_ Davis thought, _'I'm a 27-year-old multi-billionaire and business titan going back to grade school. I don't know whether to call this second chance a blessing or a curse.'_

Davis made his way to the bathroom and brushed his teeth after spending four minutes trying to figure out which toothbrush between his and his father was his. After figuring that out, he quickly brushed his teeth and washed his face. He then went back to his room and locked the door behind him. DemiVeemon came out of hiding while Davis searched his room as a means to remind himself what was where.

"This is unreal," Davis said lowly while looking for clothes to wear, "I can't believe this is happening. And if I say anything people will think I'm crazy."

Instinctively, Davis was about to look for a suit and tie to wear when...

"Davis!" Mrs. Motomiya said from behind the door to the room, "I already prepared your school clothes for you. They're on the chair by your desk."

Davis looked to see a pair of beige pants and a blue and white striped shirt with white socks _._

 _'So much for my wardrobe of custom made suits and tuxedos,'_ Davis sighed before he made quick works in putting his clothes on. After dressing himself, he went to the full length mirror and looked at himself entirely. Though he saw the reflection of his eight-year-old appearance, in his heart, he saw the grown man he still was deep down inside. He was imagining that he was seeing that matured suit dressed businessman looking back at him through his reflection. He then turned and saw his backpack at the side of his bed. Going over to DemiVeemon, he picked him up and took his D3 and D-Terminal into his hands.

"Well buddy," Davis said, "Looks like we're going back to school to be reeducated and that means going back into my backpack and gym bag."

"I'm so not looking forward to this again," DemiVeemon remarked sourly, "At least get some air fresheners to put in your gym bag so I don't have to choke smelling your clothes while in hiding."

"Funny," Davis remarked, "I wonder why I never thought of that before, but it's a good idea nonetheless."

DemiVeemon sighed to himself and then recalled, "Kari went to the same grade school with you. She was in every class with you up until high school."

Davis had completely forgotten all about that until DemiVeemon reminded him of that.

"That also means that Tai and Sora will be going to the same school with us also," Davis realized from his memories, "I don't think they'll remember the future was like we do. So far no one else but us does."

"That also means that Hawkmon, Armadillomon, Gatomon and Patamon won't be there either," DemiVeemon noted, "I'll be the only Digimon in school. That sucks."

"You're already an educated, business trained dragon Digimon," Davis joked but then realized, "But that also means that I don't have a violin and I won't be able to play to the sunset like how I used to everyday. That sucks."

"You can still play chess," DemiVeemon suggested, "You started playing against Ken and others many times after Ken talked you into giving the game a chance."

"Davis," Jun called out from behind the door, "Quit talking to yourself and get your breakfast before I eat it for you!"

 _'I miss being rich and Jun being more mature when she got older,'_ Davis thought before placing DemiVeemon in his gym bag and stepping out of the room and into the kitchen where he found his father reading a newspaper and drinking some coffee while his mother was standing in front of the stove. Jun was sitting at the table already digging in and scoffing down all the food contents on her plate.

 _'Did we really used to eat like that,'_ Davis thought with mild disgust as he entered the kitchen and took a plate and got some cooked food for himself. He went over to the table and started eating his breakfast.

Moments later, Davis looked at Jun, and recalled an event that happened sometime after he turned twenty: Jun, who then was 24 years old, had a nasty break up with her boyfriend who humiliated and dumped her for another girl at a college party. Davis, after finding out what happened, went and searched for Jun and eventually found her at a bar completely wasted and drunk. Her behavior in her drunken state was anything but ladylike and Davis recalled how she reeked of alcohol. Not wanting to see his heartbroken sister drink herself away any further, Davis went and dragged her out of the bar despite her protest and the scene she was making while crying and cursing a storm.

By the time he got her home, she was partially passed out and had to be carried inside. But that was a lesser evil than putting up with her crude mouth as he carried her bridal style into her apartment and into her bedroom. He remembered placing her down on her bed and removing her shoes, believing her to have fallen asleep. A mistake he regretted when Jun, under the influence of alcohol, suddenly grabbed and kissed him as a result of mistaking Davis for her boyfriend she broke up with. Jun passed out after releasing Davis and saying her ex-boyfriend's name, which ironically sounded close to Davis' name.

Davis remembered leaving the room quietly and quickly before Jun had another unpredictable outburst he knew she wasn't going to remember. The next morning Jun, having a headache and a hangover, came out of her bedroom, having no recollection of what happened, what she did or how she got home from the bar. That was when she found Davis awake in her kitchen preparing breakfast and some coffee for her. When asked what happened, Davis explained to his older sister what happened and how he brought her home but left out the part of her kissing him by mistake because of the alcohol in her system. He told Jun that he stayed the night and made sure nothing happened to her. Before Davis could do anything further, Jun broke down in tears and wept on her Davis' shoulders, thanking him for being there for her during her weakest and most hurtful moment in her life. Since then, Davis and Jun became close and tight with each other, more so than when they were as youths.

A year later though, the said ex-boyfriend went missing after it turned out that the girl he dumped Jun for was a runaway daughter of a high profiled Yakuza boss that didn't like him at all. The police suspected foul play as they found the ex-boyfriend's jacket with his blood on it at the crime scene, but his body never turned up.

"Hey squirt!" Jun shouted with an annoyed expression, "Quit staring at me like that! You're creeping me out!"

Davis snapped back from memory lane and back to the present, more or less.

"Sorry," Davis apologized, "I just drifted off to a memory of long ago."

"You're 8, not 50," Jun remarked, "Don't talk like you're old."

Davis just shrugged and went back to eating. After another ten minutes, he turned to his father and asked, "Father?"

Mr. Motomiya turned to Davis and inquired, "Yes son?"

"Can you buy me a violin?" Davis asked straightforwardly. Jun almost choked on her food on hearing such an unusual request as she coughed a couple of times. Mrs. Motomiya turned to her son with a surprised expression. Mr. Motomiya gave his son a skeptic look and asked, "Say what? You want me to buy you a what?"

"A violin, father," Davis repeated, "I want to have a violin. I want play a musical instrument and I choose the violin."

"Why the sudden interest in playing the violin?" Mr. Motomiya asked curiously, "Playing that instrument is very hard to do, let alone hard to learn."

"Not to mention it's very expensive to teach someone how to play the violin, especially to buy one," Mrs. Motomiya added.

"Forget that I asked," Davis retorted calmly, "I guess the idea of me wanting to learn how to be musically artistic is rather ridiculous. Excuse me."

Davis got up and dismissed himself from the table as he made his way back into his room.

"Davis wait!" Mr. Motomiya replied and then apologized, "We're sorry. I didn't think you were serious. It's just that..."

"Just what father?" Davis said while trying to give a most believable performance, as hard as it was.

"Your mother and I have been locked in a bit of a budget for the past month and we're just getting our money issues under control," Mr. Motomiya explained, "If you really want a violin, you're going to have to prove it to us."

"I'll do much better in school if that will convince you how much I want a violin," Davis promised, "I promise you!"

"Alright then," Mr. Motomiya agreed, "If we see acceptable improvements in your school grades, I'll buy you a violin."

"Great!" Davis cheered, "Just you wait! I'll do better in school for sure!" _'I can't believe I have to act like this. It's so demeaning.'_

"That's what I like to hear," Mr. Motomiya said, "Now come back here and finish your breakfast before you and Jun leave for school."

* * *

(Twenty Minutes Later)

Davis left the apartment and started on his way to school with Jun walking beside him. He walked quietly next to her while he was deep in thought thinking about his current situation and how best to handle it. Jun turned to Davis and saw the calm and calculative look on his face.

"What's on your mind squirt?" Jun asked, snapping Davis out of his train of thoughts. Davis looked up at Jun and said, "Just thinking about how I'm going handle myself better this year this time around. I don't want a repeat of what happened before."

As honest as Davis' words were, Jun didn't grasp the true deeper underlining meaning and truth behind his words.

"I sure hope so," Jun remarked, "Your grades from your second year just barely allowed you to pass and get promoted. I'd be ashamed to show my face with grades like the ones you had."

"I don't need reminders of past mistakes and childish follies," Davis retorted with a tone of conviction, "I just need a chance to prove my merit and skills while demonstrating what I can do when I'm focused on my objectives."

Jun looked at her brother oddly after hearing the way he was talking. She honestly was expecting him to get riled up and started arguing with her about how school is so boring and uninteresting to him.

"When did you learn to talk so mature?" Jun asked with a skeptic tone.

"Through life's experiences, which I have plenty of," Davis remarked honestly though once again she didn't understand the depths of his words.

"Whatever you say, squirt," Jun replied.

"And I'd appreciate it very much if you _do not_ refer to me as "squirt"," Davis said as his true character started manifesting, "I find that term insulting and offensive. I have a name and I'd like it very much if you'd refer to me by my actual name."

"I'll call you whatever I want," Jun said in a nonchalant manner before she was stopped by Davis who stopped walking and grabbed her by her left arm. Jun looked down at Davis as he looked directly at her.

"I'm serious," Davis replied with a tone devoid of humor as he gave her a hardened glare he'd give in his adult form, "I _do not_ like being called "squirt." I want to be respected and called by my name, Jun. Understand?"

Oddly enough, Jun felt intimidated by the aura coming off Davis. She couldn't explain why she felt like she was the child and he was the adult.

"OK, I'm sorry," Jun complied, "I'll make the effort not to call you names."

"That's what I want to hear," Davis replied before he released her arm and continued making his way to school with Jun standing there looking at him after the strange vibe she felt vanished.

"What was that all about?" Jun asked herself while having a look of confusion in her expression. Snapping out of it, she resumed her walk to school while catching up with Davis.

* * *

(Later At School)

Davis made his way to class quietly. He felt rather annoyed that he was going to be around a bunch of children whose thinking weren't on par with his adult mind. The irony to his situation was that technically all of the children would in time grow up to become the same age as him considering that most of his classmates were born in the same year as he was. He entered the classroom without saying so much as a greeting to anyone as he quietly made his way to his desk and sat down.

 _'I can't believe this,'_ Davis thought dejectedly, _'Instead of heading to my office desk, I'm sitting at my old elementary school desk, again.'_

Davis looked around to see all of the other eight-year-olds talking and chattering together around things kids would talk about. He shook his head thinking about how he used to talk just like them when his mind was at their level. As he sat there quietly, his mind drifted off to the last thing he remembered happening before both he and Veemon found themselves in the situation they were currently in…

* * *

(Flashback; What Happened In The Digital World)

Davis' (age 27) clothes had changed from his expensive three-piece business attire to a pair of black jeans and a red sweater with black and yellow gloves, and black flame designed leather vest. He also had on black and red sneakers with a golden necklace around his neck with a pendant that had the Crest of Miracles embedded into it. Currently the young multi-billionaire business titan and his rookie dragon partner were walking through the woods in the DigiWorld alone.

"It feels good to get away from the Real World once in a while," Davis said, "Like a nice needed vacation from life's headaches. But I will admit that there are times I miss some of my past adventures against the Digimon we had to fight against."

"Sometimes I miss those crazy times too," Veemon said, "Want to relive the past?"

"No thank you," Davis replied, "But in any case, let's go see what new stuff is happening," Davis suggested out his D3 and yelled, "Digi-armor energize!"

"Veemon armor-Digivolve to...Raidramon, the Storm of Friendship!"

The black armored dragon Digimon turned to Davis and said, "Ready when you are!"

Davis nodded and straddled himself on his partner's back and yelled enthusiastically, "Let's Ride!"

Raidramon roared loudly and then galloped away. Davis held onto to his partner and they rode through the forest. Being in the Digital gave Davis freedom from his stresses back in the Real World. While riding on his partner's back, he thought about what Ken and Veemon said earlier. As he thought about it, he wondered what would happened if he and Veemon were given a second chance to do everything all over again while knowing and having experienced everything they know and experienced. He knew that he'd have done a whole lot of things much differently and not be the foolish and brash Davis he was back then.

Shaking those thoughts away, Davis returned his mind back reality when Raidramon slowed down after his eyes caught something that captured his interest.

"What is it Raidramon?" Davis asked.

"I'm picking up on some strange energy from that cave up ahead of us," Raidramon replied, "It's unlike anything I've ever felt."

"Well," Davis suggested, "Let's go check it out and seeing if this strange aura you're sensing it a new threat to the Digital World."

The duo made their way to the cave cautious, expecting to see a Digimon of some sort. When they entered the cave, they found that there was no one there.

"I was expecting an ambushing to happen anytime now," Davis remarked.

"When statements like those are made we're actually attacked and ambushed," Raidramon commented, now expecting an enemy to attack them as they entered deeper into the cave. As they traveled further in, they saw a white light of some sort coming from one of the tunnels in the cave.

"You see what I'm seeing?" Davis asked.

"Light coming from the end of that tunnel?" Raidramon asked, "I'm assuming you want us to journey into that lit up tunnel and hope that the end of our lives isn't at the other end of it."

"Funny," Davis remarked, "Since you have time for dark humor, you can proceed into that tunnel and see where it takes us."

"Alright then," Raidramon complied before cautiously proceeding into the tunneling where the light was coming from. Both Davis and his black armored dragon partner went journeyed deeper into the tunnel with each step they took as the light continued growing brighter the further in they went. Before long they came to the end of the tunnel to fight an unexpected phenomenon happening before them.

"What do you suppose is that?" Raidramon asked.

"It looks like a portal of some sort," Davis answered, "I've never seen one like it before."

"Do you suppose something from the other end came from out of it?" Raidramon inquired.

"You're asking me questions I'm sorry to say I don't have answers to myself," Davis replied, "I think we should get in contact with Gennai first about this phenomenon before we-"

Davis was interrupted when a violent earthquake occurred.

"What the hell!?" Davis exclaimed as both the tunnel and the exit to the tunnel collapsed and was suddenly sealed off with large piles rubble from the collapsing ceiling. It became clear that the chamber they were in was about to cave in on itself and bury them alive in it. They also saw that the portal was starting to close and disappear in front of them.

"If we don't do something fast we'll both be dead inside this collapsing cave which will become our tomb!" Raidramon yelled with urgency.

"We have no choice then!" Davis said, "Jump into that portal now!"

"Are you sure!?" Raidramon asked.

"It's either we take our chances with what's on the other side of that portal or die here!" Davis replied urgently. Saying nothing further, Raidramon quickly galloped and leaped into the portal with Davis holding on tightly just before it closed and vanished with the cave completely collapsing into itself.

Davis and Raidramon were falling fast through the dimensional vortex that was arrayed with various glowing colors. It was clear that the portal was wasn't a regular dimensional door leading back to the Real World as Davis started feeling a weird and unusual force travel through him. Before long the force overwhelmed him and he lost consciousness and fell off Raidramon's back.

"Davis!" Raidramon yelled back the same force overwhelmed him and forced him to revert back to Veemon before he too lost consciousness and fell straight through the portal. While unconscious, they fell straight through the end of the portal with a brilliant white light that flashed behind them.

* * *

(Present Time)

Davis' mind returned back to from memory lane when he saw the young chestnut colored haired girl he once fell for, Kari Kamiya. She was currently engaged talking to two other girls in their class. He gave the girl a cold glare though he kept his demeanor under control.

 _'I won't repeat history,'_ Davis thought _._ Kari turned to Davis and the two suddenly made eye contact. She flashed him a bright friendly smile which he returned with a nod of acknowledgment before turning his head away from her. Kari went over to Davis and greeted cheerfully, "Hey Davis!"

Davis didn't know how to respond as he remembered his last conversation with Ken before finding himself in the time-space dimensional predicament he found himself:

 _"Whenever I think back and remember that foolish and stupid boy I used to be back then in elementary and junior high school that was always crazy about Kari, all I feel is anger and self-disgust."_

 _"Perhaps at this reunion, you and Kari could patch things up and reconcile with each other," Ken suggested._

 _"Whatever happens, happens," Davis said nonchalantly._

 _'It's ironic how my words are now coming back to bite me,'_ Davis mentally reasoned, _'But it wouldn't make any sense to hold a grudge or resent Kari as an eight-year-old girl who has no recollection of the things that happened between us up until high school. If anything, it would make me look like a total ass.'_

"Davis? You're all quiet and serious today," Kari remarked with a level of concern, "Is everything alright?"

The male "youth" snapped out of his thoughts and looked back at Kari.

"Oh uh, sorry," Davis apologized, "I just had a lot on my mind and just needed some time alone to think and reevaluate things. But it's nothing for you to be concerned about."

"I'm happy to hear that," Kari said with a smile, "Normally I'm the first person you always look for to greet and talk to."

 _'An old habit I don't plan to regress back into,'_ Davis thought and then said, "Well, I saw that you were talking to your other friends over there so I chose not to be a bother."

"Saying 'Hi' to me would never be a bother to me Davis," Kari commented with her smile never leaving her face.

"Perhaps," Davis replied, "But like you said earlier, I'm always looking to be the one to say "Hi" and talk to you first. Maybe for a change you can look to say "Hi" and talk to me first like you did moments ago. I would never find that to be a bother at all either."

"I see no harm in that," Kari agreed. A moment later the teacher entered the class and instructed everyone to take their seats before he began her lessons with was introductory to third year kanji. Davis mentally wailed, seeing that he was being forced to sit through lessons that were far beneath his vocabulary, knowledge and experience in kanji.

 _'Why?'_ Davis mentally bewailed as he wanted to bang his head on his desk.

* * *

(Later That Day)

After all of the students got ready for Phys. Ed., they went outside on the school playground. Davis in the meantime stood to the side by himself with a soccer ball in his hands.

 _'I wonder how much I can still do despite my reduced height and size,'_ Davis thought to himself, _'Only one way to find out.'_

Davis tossed the soccer ball into the air and started bouncing it into the air repeatedly with his knees for a couples seconds before he kicked it over his head with his right foot and moved to hit it with his head into the air again. As the ball came down behind him, he then used the back on his left foot to kick it back over his head and then he used his left foot again to kick the ball high enough to bounce it up and down on top of his knees while moving around with the ball, and a couple of times he bounced it on his head and chest without dropping the ball. He continued his soccer dance pattern while seeing how long he could go without dropping the ball once. Davis was so enthralled with his self-imposed challenge that he failed to notice Kari and the others, mostly the girls and some guys, looking and admiring him.

It was their cheers that snapped him out of his world and back to reality just in time to catch the ball with his hands.

 _'It's weird,'_ Davis thought, _'I feel like I was showing off to a bunch of little eight-year-old girls.'_

Kari went over to Davis and praised, "That was incredible Davis! Did my brother teach you that?"

"No," Davis said, "I was just trying to have a little fun really while seeing how long I can go without dropping the ball."

"That was a good show you gave for everyone to watch Davis," a twelve-year-old boy said as he made his way over to Davis and Kari. The duo looked to see Tai and Sora heading over to them.

"Hey Davis," Tai greeted, "Sora and I are about to play some soccer with the others. Wanna join us?"

"I guess no harm can come from it," Davis said, "Am I to be on the opposing team against you and Sora?"

"Huh?" Tai muttered with a confused look before grinning, "That's new. Are you suggesting a challenge?"

"Why not? I've been meaning to challenge both you and Sora at the same time," Davis honestly answered.

"Davis," Tai accepted with confidence, "You got yourself a game! Are you up to this Sora?"

Sora nodded her head and said, "Let's try not to go too hard on him. He's just a kid after all."

 _'Just a kid!? I'm a grown man!_ … _At least mentally I still am,'_ Davis thought with a frown and then replied, "Sora, don't go soft on me please just because I'm younger than you. I want both you and Tai to give me a good game like any other soccer event! Give me all you got, no holding back! I want to measure myself and see where I stand against both you and Tai. OK?"

"If that's what you want, alright then," Sora consented, "But don't go crying about Tai and I playing unfair against you. We are on the same soccer team you know."

"All the more why I want to see where I stand when compared to you both," Davis replied, "I'm sure it'll be an interesting game for me to learn from."

Davis turned walked off leaving Sora and Tai looking at him oddly.

"It's strange," Sora said thoughtfully, "Normally Davis would be eager to be on the same team with you."

"Hey," Tai replied, "Let the kid have his moment. It's just a shame that we'll have to end it quickly."

"Tai!" Sora giggled as she lightly chastised him before they went and assembled some of their schoolmates to be on their team. Davis did likewise and before long both teams were ready. Kari had the ball in hand and stood in the middle of Davis and Tai, both boys possessing confident smiles.

"Ready!? Set!?" Kari yelled before she threw the ball straight up as high into the air as she could. Naturally Tai being older and taller was able to take possession of the ball, which was followed up with a few good leg moments. He ran and guided the ball to the intended goal while avoiding the opposing players on Davis' team. Tai kicked the ball over to Sora who successfully got the ball and used her own foot works to run and guide the soccer ball towards the goal. Seeing members of the opposing team coming at her, she dodged and maneuvered herself away from them before kicking the ball back to Tai.

Once in his grasp, he moved quickly to see the goal in sight. He was certain he was going to score the first goal. Once in position he readied himself for the kick that would score his team the first goal. However that objective was cancelled when Davis from seemingly out of nowhere suddenly appeared from his blind spot at his left and stole the ball from him.

"What the!?" Tai remarked in surprise as Davis gave Tai no time to process what happened as he quickly guided the ball in the opposite direction it was originally going. With fluid movements, Davis evaded and danced around his opponents until he reached the goal and kicked the ball effectively into the goal, scoring the first score for his team. Many one the sidelines were cheering while at the same time surprised after how Davis so quickly and easily stole the ball and the first chance to score from Tai. Davis looked back at Tai and grinned.

"Beginner's luck!" Tai snorted, "We'll get you this time!"

 _'Sorry Tai,'_ Davis thought, _'But right now, I need to see where my speed, strength and stamina stands after being reduced back to my childhood form. I want to see how much of my abilities as an adult remained intact.'_

The game between both teams continued and much to Tai and Sora's surprise, Davis gave them a challenge and a hard time. Out of everyone on Davis' team, Davis was the fastest and most skilled. They were trying to figure out where Davis' speed and talent came from seeing that he was effectively matching if not outdoing both of them. Kari wanted to cheer for Davis but she didn't want to betray her brother either. Right now the game was tied 3-3. The last goal made by either team would win them the game. Davis' team had the ball now after Sora scored for her team moments ago. The play for the last goal started and Davis' teammates made their way to the opposing team's goalie.

Tai, Sora and the rest of their teammates worked together in order to try to prevent Davis' team from scoring the winning goal. So far they were doing a good job giving his teammates a hard time as they were wearing them out, but before Sora could steal the ball from the player of the opposing team, he kicked the ball over to Davis who took the lead now in aiming to win the game for his team.

 _'Funny,'_ Davis remembered, _'I was on the same team with Sora and Tai on this day originally. Now I'm changing history by being against them instead, and I got to admit it's rather fun being Tai's challenger and not his clone as Kari and everyone always thought of me as back then.'_

Davis looked to his left to see Tai coming for him and fast.

"I got you this time Davis!" Tai yelled as he was closing in on him.

 _'I was hoping to save this new maneuver I devoted a long time working on and perfecting for a future game,'_ Davis thought, ' _But I think I'll use it against you instead Tai.'_

Davis moved himself to a position that was in targeting range of the goalie. As Tai moved in to steal the ball, Davis swiftly turned with the ball and quickly kicked the ball into the air. Before Tai could intercept it, Davis jumped and somersaulted and with perfect timing he kicked the ball hard with his right foot and rocket it across the field and straight into the goal, winning the game for his team.

Davis' teammates and onlookers at the side cheered loudly at Davis' strategy and somersault maneuver that won him and his team the game. Tai, Sora and even Kari had widened eyes and jaws dropped open after seeing the amazing stunt Davis executed. Even the teachers who were watching were shocked and amazed at Davis' performance.

 _'Looks like a good amount of my speed, strengths and abilities I developed as an adult remained intact,'_ Davis thought, _'That's truly a breathtaking relief.'_

"Did that just happened!?" a shocked Tai asked Sora, "We lost against Davis! He actually beat us, with style!"

"I'm just as surprised as you are Tai," Sora admitted with a disbelieving expression, "I honestly made the mistake of not taking him serious at first when he said he intended to test his abilities against ours. I'm still wondering how he was able to somersault and kick the ball so perfectly into the goal."

"We definitely got to get him to join our soccer team!" Tai suggested, "Can you imagine how many victories we'll have with him working with us?!"

"That is if we can convince him to join our team," Sora replied and the thought, "I'm surprised you're not sulking from a wounded pride Tai."

"I can say the same for you too since you lost to the same kid," Tai remarked, causing Sora to blush from embarrassment after realizing what Tai said was true, "I'm more than certain that our coach will most definitely want to recruit Davis after today's game."

Tai looked to see the number of young girls, including Kari, around Davis.

"Looks like Davis has his own fan club," Tai teased, "I just hope he doesn't let this go to his head."

"Like you're one to talk Tai," Sora replied with a smirk.

"Hey," Tai playfully retorted, "I wouldn't let something like that go to my head. I know how to exercise control. Still, I can't help but wonder how Davis was able to beat us like that and we're older than him."

"I'm sure we'll beat him next time Tai," Sora assured, "For now, we should just let him have his fun."

Tai nodded his head before both he and Sora went over to Davis and the group with him. Seeing the older two coming over to him, Davis excused himself from his fan group and turned to Tai and Sora.

"That was a good game you played against us Davis," Tai complimented, "But don't think that your first victory will mean you'll win next time."

"I'm not as impetuous or immodest as some might believe me to be," Davis stated, "Those days are over."

"Those days?" Sora asked with a confused tone.

"Uh, nothing," Davis said quickly after realizing his mistake, "Just talking gibberish."

"Impetuous? Immodest?" Kari asked with a confused expression, "What do those words mean?"

"An impetuous person is a careless person who acts suddenly without first thinking about the consequences of his or her actions," Davis explained, "An immodest person is someone who arrogantly refuses to acknowledge his or her limitations while thinking he or she can do more than what he or she can actually do."

"Both words fit my brother's character," Kari remarked with a sly grin.

"What was that?" Tai asked with narrowed eyes as he looked at Kari, who looked back at him with her tongue sticking out at him.

"Excuse me young man," a grown adult male voice spoke. Everyone turned to see Tai's and Sora's soccer coach approaching them.

"Mr. Tamikawa," Tai greeted, "What are you doing here?"

"To meet boy who gave my two star players a good match and won the game in the end," Mr. Tamikawa said as he turned to Davis, "You have some incredible soccer skills and your speed for your age is unlike anything I've ever seen! I especially love that somersault move you used to win the game! How would you like to join my team?"

"I'm flattered sir," Davis said, "But my school grades need work and I've been meaning to improve in my academic studies in all honesty. Plus I still have much to work on in terms of my soccer prowess."

Taichi, Sora and Kari blinked as they looked at Davis as if he grew two extra heads on his shoulders.

 _'Since when does Davis care about his grades more than soccer!?'_ Tai thought with a baffled expression, _'If anything, joining the team was something he always talked about wanting to do!'_

 _'I guess I'm stirring things up with these changes I'm making in my past,'_ Davis thought as he looked at the coach, "I would love to join your team, but I would like to work on improving my grades first if that's alright with you sir."

"I understand and I find your desires very admirable," Mr. Tamikawa replied, "The offer is always open whenever you're ready. And you won't have to go through any tryouts seeing how you pushed my star players, Tai and Sora to take you serious though they still lost."

"You don't have to rub it in," Tai snorted with a deep frown while Sora simply sighed quietly. The school bell went off, signaling that Phys. Ed. was over. Everyone returned back inside and continued with the rest of their day inside the school.

* * *

(Later That Day)

School was over and Davis was helping with the cleanup with the other students. Kari noticed how quiet Davis was and how he kept to himself for most of the day. She went over to Davis and greeted, "Hey Davis!"

Davis looked to Kari and said, "Hello Kari? Do you need my help with something?"

"No, no," Kari assured, "I just wanted to say that I really enjoyed watching you play against my brother and Sora. I never knew you were that skilled in soccer."

"Thanks but like I said before," Davis said, "I still have much to improve on in terms of my skills; not to mention that I want to get better grades this time around this year."

Kari looked at him oddly at first as she looked him straight in the eyes.

"Is something the matter?" Davis asked.

"You're different Davis," Kari stated.

"What do you mean?" Davis asked while acting calmly.

"You've changed," Kari stated, "I can't put my finger on it but that look in your eyes…it's different. It's like you're Davis but at the same time-"

"Everyone changes Kari," Davis interjected quickly, "Either for the good or the bad. That's what life is all about. Do these changes I'm trying to make to myself bother you?"

"No, they don't bother me," Kari said quickly as she waved her hands in front of her, "It's just that it seemed so sudden and to be honest, your changes surprised me."

"Let's just say that before returning to school I went through some maturing and growing up and I only intend to move forward with my improvements," Davis remarked and thought, _'By now I'm sure Tai and Sora are thinking the same thing about me. Well, it's to be expected. Besides it's not like I can tell them that I'm actually a 27-year-old multi-billionaire entrepreneur who's being forced to relive his childhood.'_

"Well," Kari said with a bright smile, "If it's improvements you're working on making with yourself than I won't stand in your way. I want to make improvements like you too."

"That's good to hear Kari," Davis replied, "I'm confident you'll make those improvements too."

"Hey you too," one of the students said, "You can talk and work too you know. We want to finish up here and go home."

"They'll get done so relax already," Davis said before both he and Kari resumed this assigned cleaning chores.

* * *

(Later)

Davis was at his locker finishing up getting all of his belongings together. He opening his gym bag and out appeared DemiVeemon.

"You improved the smell of your gym bag from how it used to be back then," DemiVeemon remarked.

"Whatever," Davis remarked, "It's not like most of my day today was any better being in school doing third grade work all over again. The only difference this time is that everything in school is 100% easy since I'm doing little children's work. Not to mention that it's hard trying to act like an actual child considering that my mind and memories as an adult remained intact."

"Well it's not like I have it any better than you seeing that I'm the only Digimon in this world who can't make himself known yet," DemiVeemon replied.

"I'll have to find a way to change that," Davis said, "Next week a contest will be held and the winner will get a brand new laptop. I lost the first time I tried to win that laptop but that won't happen this time since I remember how things happened. When I win that laptop, I'll be able to install a Digi-gate program into the laptop and we'll be able to travel back and forth to the DigiWorld again."

"By the way," DemiVeemon stated, "Your D-Terminal doesn't have the digi-eggs. You'll have to acquire them again."

"We should let Tai and Agumon find the digi-egg of Courage again," Davis wondered aloud, "That's was how Yolei and Cody originally got their D3s."

"Assuming that they're now living in the same building that TK will live in four to five years from now," DemiVeemon suggested, "Why not befriend Yolei and Cody early on should you cause them to get their D3s instead of Tai unwittingly doing so?"

"That's very tempting," Davis admitted, "But I'd rather not expose them too early in their lives to Digimon, considering that Cody currently is only five years old. Being taken to the DigiWorld and being exposed to real dangers in that world at such a young age like that would scar and severely traumatize the boy. And while he has undoubtedly seen Digimon, he never at this time ever had to face them in combat. If you remember how Yolei was during the first weeks we became DigiDestined…I'd rather not deal with the headaches now."

"…You win Davis," DemiVeemon reluctantly consented.

"But I never said we couldn't go after the digi-egg of Friendship," Davis suggested, "Us finding and utilizing that egg won't affect anyone but us."

"It's ironic that you're suggesting we find the digi-egg of Friendship first seeing how Raidramon was the last form I was in before we were sent back here into the past," DemiVeemon remarked.

"It is what it is," Davis replied, "C'mon let's go home and we can discuss our plans further there."

DemiVeemon complied and sank back into the gym bag before Davis closed it over him. With his backpack on and gym bag in hand, Davis started on his way out of the school. On the way out, Tai and Kari caught sight of Davis making a quick exit ahead of them.

"Yo Davis wait up!" Tai called out to the "youth." Davis paused and turned to see the Kamiya siblings making their way over to him.

"You're in quite a hurry to head home," Tai remarked, "But how about we talk and walk home together like we usually do?"

"Alright," Davis agreed before they walked out the school together. While on their way home, Davis was deep in thought wondering how his new actions and change of choices from what they once were in his previous life in the past would impact on his new future now. He thought about Ken Ichijouji and the time he would rise as the tyrannical Digimon Emperor, Arukenimmon, Mummymon, Oikawa, and MaloMyotismon. Davis remembered when and how things would play out, but the question was, would he allow everything to happen in the exact way they did before.

Thinking back to how things were between him and his team, it was anything but what Davis wanted a repeat of: Yolei repeatedly insulting and arguing with him while questioning his intelligence and competence; Kari constantly flirting with TK in front of him to make him jealous and act out in foolishness only to be laughed at; the group being more willing to listen and follow TK over him as leader; Davis already knew that Kari had no romantic interest in him, and despite his physical age situation, the idea of liking Kari now with his mental maturity of his adult-self felt awkward and weird.

 _'No!'_ Davis decided, _'I won't repeat history! I won't do things the same way twice! That's a promise I won't go back on!'_

"Davis?" Kari called out, "Davis!?"

Davis snapped out of his deep thinking and turned to Kari and replied, "Oh, I'm sorry did you say something?"

"We were talking about the soccer match from during Phys. Ed and how you turned down the chance to join the team when it was finally offered to you," Kari explained. By this time, Sora had joined the trio and was walking alongside Tai.

 _'When did Sora show up?'_ Davis wondered with a perplexed look, _'How long was I distracted with my thoughts not to notice her?'_

"I didn't exactly turn it down," Davis remarked, "It was more like I postponed joining the team for a future time."

"Davis," Sora stated, "Tai and I had to wait till we were ten years old to join the team. Mr. Tamikawa was going to recruit you on the spot and you're only eight years old!"

"And when did you suddenly get that good in soccer to the point that you can not only keep up but beat both me and Sora?" Tai asked.

"I practice, how else?" Davis remarked with complete honesty. Tai snorted and added, "And that flip you did that won you the game!? When and how did you learn to do that!?"

"Sorry but that's only for me to know and improve on," Davis replied while playing innocent.

"Oh c'mon! You can tell me!" Tai insisted. Davis answered, "Tai, it would be dangerous for me to give away my secrets to someone who lost to me and wants to find ways to beat me next time."

"Now you're being stingy!" Tai remarked with Kari giggling at Tai's futile antics in trying to get Davis to talk.

"Tai give it up," Sora said, "Davis is one for stubbornness like you and he won't talk no matter how much you try to get him into doing so."

"Whose side are you on Sora?" Tai asked, "I thought you'd support me in getting Davis here to tell us how he learned those new moves he used to beat us!"

"Tai, if Davis doesn't want to share his secrets with us then we shouldn't try to pressure him into doing something he doesn't want to do," Sora said, "Let's respect his choice."

"Fine," Tai replied before looking back at Davis, "But don't expect me or Sora to go easy on you next time."

"Is that a rematch you're asking for?" Davis asked, "Because I would be more than happy to oblige."

"You got a game!" Tai declared as he shook Davis' hand who gave Tai a confident smile. This was only the beginning of changes Davis would make in his life…

* * *

 **Davis and Veemon fell through a time dimensional vortex and are unable to go back to their original timeline, and currently they're unable to investigate what caused what happened to happen. While reliving the past though, Davis and Veemon, armed with the knowledge, wisdom and life experiences they have, will carry changes in their lives from the choices they once made in their past. But how will those changes affect everyone else and events that took place through the time stream? Find out next time.**


	2. Chapter Two: Not Quite Déjà Vu

**Chapter Two: Not Quite Déjà Vu**

* * *

(Four Years Later)

A lot had taken place within the span of four years, and by a lot, drastic changes in Davis' once past life. After accepting that what happened to both himself and Veemon was a time-space dimensional phenomenon that couldn't be reversed or repeated, Davis and Veemon decided to make the most out of it. They did this by avoiding all of their past mistakes and making better choices.

Among the changes made was that Davis, after getting a brand new laptop from that contest he won when he was eight years old, programmed a Digi-gate onto it and used it to travel to and from the DigiWorld. In that way, he and Veemon went and retrieve the Digi-egg of Friendship while leaving the Digi-egg of Courage to be discovered by Tai. They utilized the Digi-egg of Friendship and prepared for the event when Ken would rise to power as the Digimon Emperor. But so far things have been peaceful.

That was until a month later when a Digimon of unknown origins appeared and started creating havoc in the Digital World with dark Digimon he was using as his minions. Davis and Veemon found out what was going on. They journeyed to the Digital World and confronted the new threat, stopping it and restoring peace to the DigiWorld.

During the next two years in the Real World, Davis, having all of his strength, speed, knowledge, wisdom and experiences as an adult intact, used them to become the top student in school both academically and athletically. By the time he turned ten years old, Davis became renowned as a genius elementary school student in all of Tokyo.

It was during that second year that Davis and Veemon discovered that the same Digimon that threatened the Digital World had reappeared. They journeyed back to the DigiWorld and a stop to Digimon once and for all.

A year later, Ken, who by that time became another rising academic and athletic star in Tamachi, learned of Davis' reputation from an editorial reporting on academic achievements. After learning of his former teammate's exploits, Ken sought to surpass him in whatever way he could.

And this was only amplified when both he and Davis crossed paths again, this time in a chess championship competition much to Davis' shock as he didn't expect to meet Ken again so soon. However, Davis saw a changed in Ken's demeanor towards him and found that Ken was a bit cold towards him. Davis suspected that what happened to Ken in the DigiWorld was starting to influence him. In that broadcasted competition, Davis and Ken were the last two finalists after beating all of the other experienced competitors. Everyone watching, whether from home on their TV or at the studio where the game was taking place, was expecting a fierce close match between Japan's two top 11-year-old elementary school students.

But that didn't happen when Davis, to everyone's dumbfounded disbelief, beat Ken and won the championship event in a four-move checkmate. Ken was completely baffled after seeing how Davis effectively used one of his pawns, his knight, bishop and queen to trap him in a four-move checkmate. While Ken outwardly gave a spirit of good sportsmanship at Davis' landslide victory over him, inside however he was seething and furious, feeling that Davis made a total fool out of him on television. Since that day, Ken established himself as Davis' rival and look for opportunities to prove his superiority to Davis.

Davis, while making those drastic changes in his life's choices, was aware that he was in effect rewriting his future and the way the events would happen. He couldn't say for sure how the same events he experienced before in both his life and in the Digital World would happen again, if at all. But through it all, he chose not to worry too much about such thoughts and possibilities and to deal with them when they happen.

At school, Davis' academic and athletic achievements along with him being adventurous and spontaneous from time to time made him the most popular preteen in school. He would play the violin during club hours after school though he wasn't in any music club. Davis, when he was twenty in his previous life so to say, took up and learned the violin while in college and kept practicing for years with expert teachers instructing and guiding his talent. Because opening a food franchise was Davis' desire, he would play the violin as a hobby and never made an actual career out of it despite his acquired talent for it.

This balance between Davis' maturity, achievements and adventurous personality led him to be a heartthrob for many young girls in school. Yet Davis didn't allow his popularity to go to his head, like he would have if his mind and personality was what it used to be when he was actually 11 years old the first time.

As for Davis' life with his parents and older sister, his drastic changes left his parents much to be happy and proud of. Among the things that surprised his parents was how Davis wouldn't argue and fight with Jun about anything anymore. In fact it was like he was the calm and mature grown up looking to reason on matters rather than childishly argue or fight it out with Jun to get his way. Interestingly enough, this led to him having a much better sibling relationship with Jun than he had the first time around.

* * *

(Present Time)

Davis, now 12 years old, was making his way out of his apartment complex with his backpack and gym bag. Upon arriving outside, he found Kari waiting for him by the door.

"Good morning Kari," Davis greeted with a smug smile, "Looking to be my escort on the first day of school?"

"Funny," Kari remarked, "I came to make sure you didn't oversleep again."

"Kari I haven't overslept since I was eight," Davis reminded.

"Better safe than sorry I say," Kari replied with a bright smile.

"Me too," Jun said as she appeared from behind them with her school uniform on. The 16-year-old girl had he backpack on over her shoulders with a toothy smile on her face.

"You're not planning to walk me to school again are you?" Davis asked.

"I'd hate to be the third wheel Davis," Jun teased.

"Don't see why," Davis replied, "Tai does it all the time and you doing it would just complete the circle."

"You both got jokes this morning," Kari smiled, "C'mon let's head to school."

Davis nodded and they started walking together. Soon Jun broke off from them, and went in another direction where her school was located. Davis and Kari were now walking alone together. As they were walking, Davis started up a conversation.

"Tai didn't tell Sora his true feelings for her yet has he?" Davis asked, causing Kari to look at him.

"How did you know that?" Kari asked.

"I didn't, but you confirmed my suspicions just now," Davis remarked while ignoring the frown on Kari's face, "Tai has always been hesitant whenever it came to Sora."

"Tai wants to tell her," Kari said, "But every time he tries to he always loses his nerves and backs down before completely changing the subject."

"Your brother's reluctance will cost him dearly if he keeps this pattern up," Davis remarked. Kari looked at Davis and replied in Tai's defense, "C'mon Davis, give my brother some credit. He at least made the effort to try…well, a couple of times anyway."

Davis turned to Kari and said, "Hikari, I'm going to be honest and straightforward with you…"

Kari knew when to take Davis serious, and him using her actual name was the clear indication that whatever it was he wanted to say he wanted her full undivided attention.

"Tai will lose his chance with Sora if he doesn't confess and tell Sora the truth about his feelings for her," Davis explained, "She won't wait around for him forever and will eventually move on to someone else and by the time Tai finally builds up the courage to finally tell Sora how he feels, it'll be too late for him. That, I promise you. And one of the worst ways to lose someone you have strong feelings for is to lose that person to your best friend."

 _'I've never seen Matt show that kind of interest in Sora at any time,'_ Kari thought and then wondered, _'Does Davis know something that I haven't been paying attention to that he has? Maybe I'm overthinking things.'_

Davis continued his speech and said, "Tai and Sora have been friends for years and have always been there for each other, especially when it mattered most. They always had each other's back and were always able to count on each other for support and when they needed each other. I'm sure they had their arguments and misunderstandings and I once heard how Tai accidentally vomited inside Sora's hat before she placed her hat back over her head. Bodily fluids and bio hazards aren't pleasant additions any girl would want on her hair and head."

"I remember that incident," Kari laughed, "Tai spent days trying to write an apology letter to Sora with a hair clip he bought for her as part of his apology. Sora for her part spent days calling my brother "Stupid Tai" before she received his note, accepted his gift and forgave him. "

"That's my point," Davis said, "Despite what happened and how foolish 'Stupid Tai' was for being so careless which left Sora deeply embarrassed in a most disgusting way, Sora in time forgave him, accepted his gift and even now she wears his gift on her hair wherever she goes. That's the type of girlfriend any guy in his right mind would want, especially if he knows how to protect her, treat her right and apologize to her when he admits he was wrong about something. And it goes a long way if the girl have affections for the guy and appreciates him for just being him. Tai stands to lose a lot if he doesn't embolden himself to tell Sora about his feelings for her and why he feels the way he does for her."

Kari couldn't help but look at Davis with fascination and wonder. She knew Davis was right about everything he was saying, but the level of his wisdom and maturity was way beyond his years.

 _'Who are you really Daisuke?_ _'_ Kari wondered in fascination, ' _When and how did you learn to speak and be this wise and mature about such deep topics? You_ _speak as though you've lived a long time and experienced many things in life. I keep trying to figure you out but you keep surprising me with new unexpected things about you. I want to know who you really are Daisuke.'_

Davis looked at Kari and saw that she spaced out staring at him.

"Kari?" Davis called out to her, "Planet Earth to Kari?"

Kari snapped out of her private thoughts and realized she was staring at Davis too long. She looked away and blushed, "I'm sorry. I got lost in my thoughts while thinking about what you were saying."

"Are you sure that was all you were thinking about?" Davis teased.

"Yes I'm very sure, thank you very much!" Kari replied though her darkened blush only served to betray her words. Davis decided not to tease her further and said, "OK, if you say so."

Kari sighed in relief and decided to return to the previous subject and suggested, "It might do my brother some justice if you talk some sense into him Davis."

"Why not just tell him everything I told you?" Davis asked, "You are his sister."

"And that's the problem," Kari countered, "Knowing how stubborn and hardheaded he is, Tai most likely won't listen to me. He might listen to you faster since you're another male like him. Plus you know how to put things into clear perspective better than me."

"Alright fine," Davis agreed, "I'll talk to Tai and get him to man up and grow a pair of bal-"

"Davis!" Kari chastised before he could finish his proclamation.

"What?" Davis asked with mock innocence, "I'm simply saying it as it is."

"I might reconsider talking to Tai myself if your approach comes off that crude," Kari said.

"You won't get far if he's as hardheaded as you says he is," Davis remarked, "But if you believe otherwise-"

"Fine," Kari relented, "You talk to him."

"And with that, we'll have to see how far I'll get talking some sense into Tai," Davis replied.

"Good luck with that,"Kari remarked.

"I go beyond luck," Davis replied, "I'm the Golden Child who pulls Miracles."

"Whatever you say," Kari said with a shrug. It wasn't until another twenty minutes when they arrive at the school complex. As they got closer and made their way towards the school building, Kari was about to ask Davis a personal question when…

"Hey Davis!" one of the boys on the playing field called out to him with a soccer ball in his hands, "Wanna play a game with us before class starts?"

"Sure!" Davis agreed before making his way to the other preteens waiting for him to join.

"I'll catch with you later Kari!" Davis said as he continued making his way to where the other boys were. Kari smiled brightly at the maroon haired boy and shook her head as she thought, _'That's Davis for you. It's nice that despite his many changes some things about him remained the same.'_

Kari went into the building no sooner after thinking that. Ten minutes into the game, Davis went and retrieved the ball that was kicked out of the field by accident by one of the players. The ball went into the path of a blonde preteen with a white hat on his head. Davis immediately recognized the preteen as Takeru Takaishi, better known as TK, but he pretended not to know him.

"Hey?" TK asked, "Is this yours?"

"Yeah it is," Davis said as he waited for the ball to be given back to him.

"You remind me of somebody," TK remarked before he tossed soccer back to Davis, "I'm sure I've seen your face from somewhere before."

Davis, upon catching the ball, thought, _'Odd…TK never mentioned seeing my face from somewhere in the past,'_ Davis then replied, "Whoever that person is that I remind you of…I hope it's someone you hold the utmost respect and admiration for."

TK raised an eyebrow on hearing that but Davis said nothing further and his kicked to ball back to the group of boys that were calling out to him to hurry up and bring back the ball so they could finish the game. Davis returned to the group of boys and resumed his game with them with TK looking on at him.

"He definitely reminds me of somebody," TK said to himself before making his way into the school.

* * *

(Twenty-Five Minutes Later)

Davis made his way into class and went to his desk next to Kari.

"What do you know?" Davis remarked, "We're in the same class again. Would call that luck or a miracle Kari?"

"I wouldn't call that luck if it's indeed a miracle," Kari answered as she looked and smiled at him.

 _'Hmm…a modified reply. A lot different from the first time in my previous life when her answer was aimed to mock me,'_ Davis thought.

"Davis? What are you thinking about?" Kari asked as she saw the odd like on his face. Davis snapped out of it and returned back to the present, "Oh, uh, sorry. I kind of spaced out for a moment," Davis said as he sat down next to Kari.

"Losing touch with reality? Davis what am I going to do with you?" Kari asked as she shook her head.

"That's up to your imagination and private fantasies Kari," Davis replied, not noticing the heated blush that appeared on her cheeks.

"Whatever," Kari pouted. A minute later, the teacher appeared and started the class.

"Good morning everyone," the teacher said, "Today we're starting the new school year and I intend that we make the best of things. First off we have a new student who just moved into Odaiba and at this time I like to introduce him."

At that the teacher signaled TK to enter and stand in front of the class. TK looked and saw both Davis and Kari sitting next to each other, but his eyes focused on Kari.

 _'Great!'_ TK thought happily with a bright smile, _'Kari is in this class and school too!'_

 _'And so it begins…again,'_ Davis thought as he saw the look on TK's face when his eyes fell on Kari. The teacher said, "This is Takeru Takaishi and he'll be joining our class."

"Hi everyone," TK greeted, "Please just call me TK."

"Alright then TK," the teacher said, "Please go and take a seat by the girl with the camera."

TK went and did as instructed. After sitting down, he turned to Kari and said with a smile, "Together again, just like old times."

"Indeed we are," Kari agreed with a friendly smile. Davis turned to see Kari interacting with TK and thought, _'I remember this moment too well…one I'm especially not fond of when I reacted out of jealous anger and accused TK of stealing my girl.'_ Davis smiled to himself as he turned his head back to the front of the class to face the teacher, _'It's laughable now that I'm not that same foolish child I once was back then who had a hopeless crush that was never accepted.'_

TK looked over at Davis and back at Kari.

"I met that guy next to you earlier outside," TK said to Kari, "But I'm sure I've seen his face from somewhere else before."

Before Kari could say anything about that, the teacher cleared his throat and said, "Let's begin today's class with an orientation of what will be expected out of all of you."

* * *

(Later That Day)

Kari and TK were at the library getting reacquainted when Davis walked in casually over to them with his gym bag in hand.

"Hey TK," Davis asked, gaining TK's and Kari's attention.

"I'd like to know something; how do you know Kari?" Davis asked, purposefully reenacting what happened before in his past but with a calm and relaxed demeanor. Looking over at Davis, TK replied, "How do I know Kari?"

"That's the question I asked you and I'd like to know since she never mentioned you to me," Davis stated, which ironically was true since again in this repeat of his life Kari never mentioned TK to Davis or vice versa.

 _'Kari never mentioned anything about me to him?'_ TK wondered while seeing how Davis was probing him for answers. With a large smile, TK remarked, "Oh, I get it! You're jealous of me!"

 _'Damn TK! It disgust me how I allowed myself to be made a fool out of by you the first time all because I let my denial and indignation get the better of me!'_ Davis thought and then replied calmly with a tone that showed he wasn't amused, "For a new student of this school, you're rather presumptuous."

"Excuse me?" TK replied with a baffled expression.

"I've only met you today and already you're rudely accusing me of being jealous of you on unproven grounds," Davis chastised and then looked over at Kari and stated, "I didn't expect for your friend here to possess such immodest arrogance, Kari."

Feeling embarrassed by Davis' rebuke, Kari quickly sought to mend things between them.

"Uh…Don't take TK serious Davis," Kari said as she tried to calm the situation, "He was only fooling around. Right, TK?"

Seeing the predicament in front of him, TK went along with what Kari was trying to do and said, "Yeah, I was only playing around man. I'm sorry that what I said offended you."

"Apology accepted," Davis said and then added, "But try not to make it a habit."

"Davis," Kari said, "I don't think I've properly introduced you both to each other. Davis, this is Takeru Takaishi, who's known as TK by many. We've known each other since we were eight years old and his older brother Matt is best friends with my brother. Tai and TK met at summer camp four years ago and I met TK through Tai. We've kept in contact with each other since then."

"Really now?" Davis asked while seeing the grin on TK's face. Kari turned to TK and said, "TK, this is Daisuke Motomiya, but everyone calls him Davis. He played on the same soccer team with my brother and Sora before they graduated. Davis is also my best and closest friend."

"Your best and closest friend; how long have you both known each other?" TK asked with a surprised look on his face. Davis saw TK's grin vanish from his face as he read the hidden meaning behind TK's inquiry. Kari seemed unaware of the hidden meaning behind TK's question as she simply answered, "Since pre-school; for over seven years now actually."

"It's been that long?" TK asked.

"Seven years is longer than four years obviously," Davis remarked, "And during those years, school and the life's challenges have kept Kari and I busy."

"Speak for yourself boy genius," Kari giggled. TK thought about what Kari called Davis and that was when he realized something about Davis.

"Wait!" TK said, "Now I remember where I've seen your face! You're the one who's praised as the top student in all of Japan. My mother wrote an article about academic geniuses and school examinations, and your name and picture appeared in her report nine months ago."

"Your mother is a reporter?" Davis asked and stated, "So is my father. What a coincidence. Makes me wonder if they know and work with each other."

"Who knows," TK said, "You know the old saying, it's small world after all. Hey wait! Kari said you played on the same soccer team with Tai and Sora," TK remembered, "You must have made quite an impression to have been allowed to be on the same team as Tai and Sora."

"They and their team played against me and my team once four years ago; I didn't do much except beat them both in that game," Davis commented. Before TK could ask Davis how he managed that, a 13-year-old girl with long lavender hair and round glasses walked into the library. Davis immediately recognized her.

 _'Here comes Yolei Inoue right on time,'_ Davis mentally remarked as Yolei approached them.

"Hey Kari!" Yolei called out. Kari turned to see Yolei hurrying over to them.

"Yes Yolei, what is it?" Kari asked with curiosity.

"Your brother Tai sent this weird e-mail and I figured it might be addressed to you," Yolei said before handing Kari a printed note. Kari took the note and read through it. Yolei over looked at Davis and greeted brightly, "Hey Davis! What's up?

"Nothing much really?" Davis answered, "And you?"

"Everything is cool," Yolei replied, "My friends from the computer club are hosting a group study session so we can prepare for the school year," Yolei then asked pleasantly, "Will you join me as my study partner at the group study later today?"

"I don't know yet," Davis said, "I'll have to see how things today play out first."

"Oh c'mon!" Yolei pouted as she folded her arms across her breasts.

"Yolei don't worry," Davis said, "Today was just the first day of school and it's only the beginning of the new school year."

"All the more why I need you as my study partner," Yolei replied as she moved closer to him and clasped her hands with his before smiling at him sweetly, "Everyone knows you're the school genius and for the sake of my academic future, I'll need all the help you can give me. You wouldn't want to see me fall behind in my grades now, would you?"

 _'Funny,'_ Davis thought with a nervous smile, _'The only time Yolei held my hands back then was when she asked me to get a signed autograph from Ken. Now she's holding my hands while asking me to help her with her studies, so she claims.'_

 _'There she goes again!'_ Kari thought sourly as she held the note in her hand tightly, almost crumbling it while frowning at Yolei, _'Flirtatiously trying to make advances on Davis while using study group sessions as her excuse to monopolize on his time and attention!'_

TK saw the cold look on Kari's face after seeing the way she was looking at Yolei trying to flirt with Davis in front of her.

"Yolei give Davis some space please," Kari said, "There's no need to pressure him into joining you if he can't do so."

"I'm not pressuring him into anything," Yolei replied while hiding her own annoyance at Kari but never letting go of Davis' hands, "It's entirely up to him if he can join me or not."

"And he said that he doesn't know if he can," Kari reminded.

"He doesn't know if he can _yet,_ Davis said," Yolei corrected while frowning at Kari as she finally released her hold on Davis' hands, "And I hope he does decide to join me."

Davis sighed at the scene, while both he and TK saw the tension between Yolei and Kari. TK clearly didn't look too happy about it, but for different reasons. Putting her displeasure aside, Kari looked at TK and said, "My brother needs us."

Kari handed TK the partially crumbled note and allowed him to read the message on it. He looked back at Kari and nodded his head in understanding. Kari quickly exited the library and made her way to the computer lab with TK, Davis and Yolei following in hot pursuit.

 _'And so our rebooted adventures begin,'_ Davis thought while Yolei had no idea what was going on. It took the group a few minutes to make it to the computer room. On their way, they met up with Izzy Izumi, an old friend of Kari's and Tai's. Izzy said he also had receive the distress call and made his way to the computer lab as fast as he could. Yolei was head over heels to finally have a chance to talk to the "legendary former president of the computer club" in person.

Entering the computer room, Izzy immediately occupied the seat in front of a specific computer and began typing away at it. Kari and TK in the meantime reached behind their backs and pulled out two all two familiar objects: Digivices. Davis silently reached for his D3 after unzipping his gym bag.

"It shouldn't take me long to access the Digi-Gate to the Digital World," Izzy said.

"The Digital World? Is that a new online video game or something?" Yolei asked with a perplexed expression. Izzy turned and looked behind him and realized that he, TK and Kari forgot that Davis and Yolei followed them to the computer room. Before Izzy, TK or Kari said anything, however, the answer to Yolei's inquiry came from an unexpected source.

"It's not an online video game Yolei," Davis explained, "It a universe parallel to our own, a digital dimension."

"A digital dimension?" Yolei asked with a confused look, "Are you for real?"

"As real as you can imagine," Davis continued, "The Digital World's geographical structure is a complete carbon copy of this world and its inhabitants are digital creatures known as Digimon. They're classed from Baby, In-Training, Rookie, Champion, Ultimate to Mega, with Mega being the strongest level. And depending on their nature, they could either be Data, Composite, Vaccine or Virus-type Digimon, Virus-type being the dangerous ones most of the time.

"These creatures have appeared in Odaiba before during the Digimon invasion which was led by a Virus-type Digimon called Myotismon four years ago. He was looking for a DigiDestined that was known as "The 8th Child," a young child he wanted kill for some reason or other."

"A DigiDestined?" Yolei asked, "What's that?"

"DigiDestined are children chosen from this world to protect Digital World and by extension our world with the aid of Digimon who are partnered with them," Davis continued, "Such Digimon draw their strengths and powers from the hearts and spirits of their human partners."

Kari, TK and Izzy looked like they just stepped into the Twilight Zone while Yolei was the only person in the room who was unaffected by Davis' words. However that was because she didn't understand the gravity of the situation or what Davis just explained.

 _'How could Davis know all of that?'_ Kari thought, _'I know he's an academic genius but there's no way he could have learned all that on his own,'_ Kari then asked carefully, "Davis, how do you know what you know?"

What she didn't expect as Davis' reply was for him to reveal from his gym bag a dark gray and blue small digital device that bore a striking resemblance to...

"A digivice!" Izzy exclaimed as he stared in awe at the object in Davis' hand.

"A D3 actually," Davis corrected, "And not only that…"

Davis looked into his bag and out came…

"A Digimon!?" TK exclaimed in surprise.

"I'm not just any Digimon!" DemiVeemon retorted before Yolei screamed and jumped back away from Davis in surprise for a second after seeing Davis' partner appear from his gym bag and talk. Yolei pointed to DemiVeemon and asked in disbelief, "Th-That thing can talk!?"

"Hey!" DemiVeemon retorted, "I'm not a thing either! And I have a name while in this smaller In-training form. I'm DemiVeemon, a legendary dragon Digimon everyone in the DigiWorld once believed was a myth since I'm the only one of my kind. And I've been Davis' partner and ally for years."

"For years?" Kari asked with a speechless expression as she looked at DemiVeemon. Looking back at Davis, Kari said, "You never told me that you're a DigiDestined Davis!"

"You have your share of secrets also Kari," Davis pointed out, "And I'm sure that you have your reasons for not sharing them with me."

 _'I really did want to tell you Davis,'_ Kari thought as she lowered her head and eyes a little, _'But Tai and Sora forbade me from doing so,'_

Seeing the sad look on Kari's face, Davis assured, "Listen Kari, we can always mend and patch things up after we find out what your brother needs us for. Is that OK with you?"

Kari smiled and agreed, "OK."

Yolei approached DemiVeemon and bent over to him to take a closer look at him.

"So you've been Davis' partner for years, huh?" Yolei said as she reached out and lifted DemiVeemon out of Davis' gym bag and held him up, "How could a cute looking Digimon as small as you possibly protect Davis from harm?" Yolei asked with curious tone, "You look more like an adorable teddy bear I would fall asleep with."

"I'm a dragon not a bear actually," DemiVeemon replied with a bright smile.

"Yolei it's best to not underestimate my partner," Davis advised, "He's more than he appears."

"Like you obviously," Yolei remarked after turning to look at Davis while holding DemiVeemon in her arms against her breasts, "Just when I thought I had you figured out, this mind blowing revelation about you happens!"

It was clear that Yolei forgot about the others being in the room.

"Davis isn't the only DigiDestined in the room you know," TK thought out loud for everyone to hear.

"Davis?" Kari asked, "I was just wondering: How do you know about Myotismon?"

"I had the displeasure of crossing paths with him before," Davis said.

"You crossed paths with Myotismon before?" TK asked while finding Davis' words hard to believe, as did Kari and Izzy.

"Thankfully I'm alive to tell about it," Davis said, "He was a very deadly enemy."

"Kari and I can attest to that," TK said, "He's someone we don't ever want to see again."

 _'If you only knew that Myotismon will return to cause trouble for us in the future,'_ Davis thought. Meanwhile…

"Prodigious!" Izzy remarked after visually studying Davis's D3 and comparing it to TK's and Kari's Digivices, "I didn't even know that another model exist! I'd love to have an opportunity to study and examine that model!"

"Be that as it may," Davis remarked and stated, "But we'll have to put your research aside and journey to the DigiWorld where Tai is waiting for us. Did you lock on to the coordinates where Tai is located?"

Izzy turned back around and started typing away at the keyboard again. Before long, he accessed the Digi-Gate and locked into the coordinates closest to Tai's location.

"Got it!" Izzy said.

"Perfect!" Davis said before putting his gym bag and book bag down and picking up DemiVeemon from Yolei. Davis held his partner in his left arm and his D3 in his right hand. Izzy moved aside from the computer to let Davis, Kari and TK stand in front of the monitor screen.

"You both ready?" Davis asked.

"Ready!" Kari and TK said at the same time.

"Let's go then!" Davis said as he aimed his D3 at the monitor screen with Kari and TK aimed their Digivices at the screen, "Digi-Port Open!"

With a bright flash of white light all three of them and DemiVeemon were sucked into the monitor screen and disappeared from the computer room. Yolei's mouth was dropped wide open with a shocked look on her face as she turned to look at Izzy.

"Perhaps you better sit down so I can better explain everything to you," Izzy advised.

* * *

(In The DigiWorld)

TK and Kari looked around and found that they were in an area of the Digital World that was a large forest and presently they were standing in an open clearing of it. Kari and TK looked and saw that DemiVeemon had changed form.

"You digivolved," Kari said.

"In this Rookie form I'm Veemon," the blue dragon Digimon said, "My attacks are V-Headbutt and V-kick."

"Well I hope you had plenty to eat and drink before coming here Veemon," Davis said.

"Don't worry," Veemon assured with a grin, "I ate all of your snacks, remaining lunch and drank your last two energy drinks from your bag. I'm sure that'll hold me up long enough."

"That's good to know," Davis remarked. TK and Kari saw and realized that Davis' clothes changed from the school clothes he was originally wearing. Because Davis' personality and maturity was a lot different from before, his Digital World wardrobe underwent a complete change from the ones he wore the first time he journey to the DigiWorld. Davis was now wearing tanned beige pants with black and grey sneakers and a black collarless turtleneck shirt. He was also wearing black gloves with red outlines designs around them and a gunmetal colored jacket with a fur collar and flame designs around the bottom fringes and sleeves of the jacket. Around his neck was a golden necklace with a small golden pendant attached to it that had the symbol of "Miracles" engraved on it.

"Nice change of clothes Davis," TK complimented.

"Thanks," Davis accepted, "I'm happy they don't look like school uniforms."

Kari held her Digivice and tried to pinpoint Tai's exact location.

"So Davis," TK asked, "How long have you been a DigiDestined since you since you said you crossed paths with Myotismon before?"

"How long I've been one is not important," Davis answered as he held his D3 and typed a few commands into it, "What's important is finding Tai."

TK frowned at how Davis evaded answering his question. But when he took a closer looked at Davis, that was when he noticed the golden pendant hanging around his neck with its inscription. Before TK could inquire about it, Davis said, "I have a lock on Tai's signal from his Digivice. He's not too far from here. Follow me."

Without saying another word, Davis started walking into the direction where Tai was located with Veemon walking beside him. Kari and TK followed behind him as he led the way. While they were walking, Kari and TK looked at Davis and Veemon with a world of questions in their minds about the duo. Soon, Davis and Veemon stopped walking, causing Kari and TK to stop walking also.

"Why are we stopping?" Kari asked curiously.

"Guys, there's something you both need to know," Davis said with a serious tone as he and Veemon turned to face them, "I know why Tai came to the DigiWorld and send you that distress message Kari."

"You know why?" TK asked with a tone that indicated that he wanted answers.

"What can you tell us?" Kari inquired.

"A new danger threatens the Digital World," Davis revealed, "A danger Veemon and I have been secretly investigating for some time now."

"What kind of danger is it?" Kari asked, "What did you and Veemon find out?"

"A tyrant calling himself the Digimon Emperor recently rose to power and is enslaving Digimon with the use of Dark Rings," Davis explained, "He's also been setting up obelisks known as Control Spires to emit signals that prevent Digimon from digivolving and opposing him."

"Our Digimon won't be able to digivolve?" Kari asked with concern.

"With those Control Spires in place," Davis confirmed, "No. And already the Digimon Emperor has been gathering an army of enslaved Digimon with his Dark Rings to do his bidding and attack other innocent Digimon."

"Do you know who this Digimon Emperor is?" TK asked.

"Unfortunately what you both heard is all I can tell you guys for now," Davis replied, "I have an idea who the Digimon Emperor could be, but I need more time and information before jumping to any conclusions. Do you understand?"

TK and Kari nodded their heads in agreement seeing that they now have a clearer understanding of what was going on.

"Good. Now let's keep moving," Davis suggested, "The Digimon Emperor is known for having spies secretly lurking around."

TK and Kari followed Davis and Veemon quietly again. As this was going on, TK slowed his pace down and pulled Kari back to slow her walking pace also while making a gap between them and Davis and Veemon.

"Hey Kari?" TK whispered.

"Yeah TK?" Kari asked lowly.

"Do you think Davis knows more than he's telling us?" TK asked suspiciously.

"What do you mean?" Kari whispered back.

"He said that he's been investigating what's been happening in the DigiWorld for some time when we didn't know what was going on," TK replied, "I mean…I would have thought that if there was a certain danger we would have been the first to have been alerted to it. And Davis said that he crossed paths with Myotismon before and who knows who else. And did you notice that golden necklace around his neck with that pendant hanging on it?"

"What about it?" Kari asked.

"It possess an inscription of some kind of symbol," TK said, "One I've never seen before. I have a feeling that there's more to Davis and Veemon than they're letting on."

Davis and Veemon looked behind them and saw that TK and Kari were whispering to each other about something from a distance.

"Can you guys please keep with the pace?" Davis requested, gaining the attention of TK and Kari as they looked back at him, "Tai is still waiting for our arrival so let's not slow it down."

"Sorry Davis," Kari apologized, "You're right! We better catch up!"

Davis nodded his head and continued walking ahead of them with Veemon next to him. As they continued to follow Davis, Kari replied to TK, "I don't see a reason to doubt or question him TK. So far Davis is our only lead to what's happening and-"

Kari stopped talking when she saw that Davis and Veemon stopped at what was clearly a vending machine that offered drinks of some sort.

 _'What a familiar machine,'_ Davis thought as he stood in front of it with Veemon, _'Back then during my first travel here, I didn't know why such a machine was in this forest yet at the time all I was able to think about was getting something to drink from it,'_ Davis then frowned, _'What followed after that led me to be laughed at by both TK and Kari. Well, I'm not one for repeating my mistakes.'_

Davis stepped to the side leaving Veemon standing directly in front of the machine.

"Care to do the honors Veemon?" Davis said as he pointed to the machine, while Kari and TK wondered what Davis was up to.

"Gladly," Veemon agreed with a toothy grin as he cracked his knuckles, **"V-Headbutt!"**

Veemon charged forward and collided his horned head into the vending machine that dented and made the front collapse. A bunch of green creatures pile out from the machine after the front broke and fell forward. They had big mouths, purple spots on their backs and big round eyes. The impact left them dazed and a little sore.

"Did you know those Numemon were inside that machine?" TK asked with a surprised look on his face. Not wanting to directly confirm TK's correct inquiry, Davis replied around it saying, "That's what they're called? If you must know, I found this vending machine to be a practical tease since there's no power source for it here in this forest. Those 'Numemon' being in there was probably a coincidence."

Davis' excuse was believable enough to make TK not question him further.

"Hey, what's the big idea!? We were hiding in there!" one of the Numemon said in anger on behalf of the others that gave the same reaction. Davis leaned forward with a stern expression on his face and both arms crossed over his chest.

"Next time hide somewhere that isn't a vending machine that's meant to provide food and drinking condiments!" Davis chastised, "I might have wanted something to drink you know!"

The Numemon were about to retort until one of them took a better look at Davis and Veemon.

"Hey wait a minute! I recognize you two now!" that Numemon realized in excitement, causing Davis and the others to look at him oddly.

"You do?" Davis asked.

"You're Davis!" that Numemon acknowledged, "The Golden Child! The one who pulls Miracles!"

"The Golden Child?" TK and Kari repeated in unison with confused looks on their faces. The Numemon turned to his comrades and declared, "Hey you guys! It's the Golden Child and his legendary Digimon that fought and destroyed that great monster and his army and saved the Digital World from total collapse!"

The other Numemon looked at the duo and realized…

"It is them!" they loudly cheered happily as they circled around Davis and Veemon, "The Golden Child and his Digimon returned to deliver us once again!"

 _'O…K,'_ Davis thought, _'This was NOT the reception I received the first time I was here at this vending machine.'_

TK and Kari were completely confused and speechless by what they were hearing the Numemon saying about Davis and Veemon.

"Davis is the Golden Child?" Kari asked in wonder, "I never heard of such a DigiDestined."

"I remember hearing that because you're the Child of Light," TK commented, "Myotismon and others like him considered you a threat that had to be rid of. They said nothing about a Golden Child that had to be dealt with."

"Not to mention that those Numemon said that there was a great threat that would have collapsed the Digital World that Davis and Veemon prevented," Kari recalled and then asked in disbelief, "How come we didn't know about this?"

"I'm just as shocked as you are," TK remarked and then stated, "But it only serves to prove my point that there's more to Davis and Veemon that they're not telling us!"

"I can say the same for myself," Kari replied in Davis' defense.

"What do you mean?" TK asked.

"I knew Davis for years and I never once told him anything about me being a DigiDestined either," Kari explained, "Nor did Tai or Sora for that matter. So who are we to judge him?"

TK couldn't argue with Kari's logic and point. When he thought about it, it would make Kari look like a hypocrite if she were to question Davis' integrity and why he kept his being a DigiDestined a secret from everyone. But Kari's mind then remembered how one of the Numemon addressed Davis:

 _"You're Davis! The Golden Child! The one who pulls Miracles!"_

Then she recalled Davis' words from earlier:

 _"I go beyond luck. I'm the Golden Child who pulls Miracles."_

 _'Those were Davis' words from earlier today,'_ Kari recalled before she smacked her face with her right hand and said out loud, "How could I have missed that!?"

TK looked back at Kari and asked, "How could you have missed what Kari?"

"Earlier this morning Davis told me directly that he was the Golden Child and I completely allowed his words to go over my head," Kari explained, "And without directly saying it, he implied that he's a DigiDestined and I missed the meaning to his words! I can't believe this!"

"Don't be too hard on yourself Kari," TK encouraged, "There's no need to get all worked up for something that wasn't your fault."

"The thing is that we're here talking about how Davis never told us he's a DigiDestined like us yet he told me first in an indirect way," Kari clarified. It was a few minutes later when Davis and Veemon got the Numemon to depart from them and leave for a new location to hide in. After they were gone, TK and Kari walked over to the duo.

"So you're known as "The Golden Child"," Kari said with a look of interest.

"I told you that earlier," Davis reminded, "Remember?"

"Yeah you did," Kari admitted, "I evidently missed the meaning behind your words. Sorry about that."

"We never heard of such a DigiDestined called the "Golden Child"," TK interjected.

"That's because like my partner Veemon, the Golden Child was only considered to be a myth," Davis replied, "No one really believed that such a DigiDestined exist."

"That's news to us," TK remarked.

"And you and Veemon stop a catastrophe from happening to the DigiWorld?" Kari asked.

"We didn't exactly do it alone," Davis said as modestly as possible, "There were others who helped me and Veemon during that chaotic crisis."

"Who were they?" Kari inquired. Before Davis could continue his explanation…

"Kari!"

"TK!"

Kari and TK looked and spotted a white cat-like Digimon running up to them, closely followed by a flying orange pillow with bat wings for ears. Davis and Veemon immediately recognized them as Gatomon and Patamon. Behind them, an all too familiar human with brown hair came into view, who was none of than the 16-year-old Tai Kamiya with a small T-Rex type Digimon walking next to him, which was none other than Agumon. But then something unexpected happened…

"Davis! Veemon!" Gatomon greeted happily, "You guys back!"

"Hey Veemon! Davis!" Agumon greeted, "It's been a while! How have things been with you guys?"

"Hey Davis!" Patamon said acknowledging the "youth", "I see that you met my human partner! It's great to see you and Veemon again!"

"Gatomon, Agumon and Patamon!" Davis greeted, "You guys are looking better than last time. But I know we're not here for a social visit as there's trouble in the Digital World once again."

Tai, Kari and TK blinked with confused and shocked expressions at the awkward scene. When the shock finally registered in their heads…

"Davis is a DigiDestined!?" Tai asked in disbelief, "When was this?!"

"And our Digimon knows him and Veemon too?" TK asked, "How's that possible?"

"Davis and Veemon rescued and saved us and the others once," Agumon revealed.

"Davis did what!?" Tai exclaimed in disbelief as he looked over at Davis briefly and then turned to look back at his T-Rex partner, "When was this and how come we're only hearing about this now?!"

"It's a long story," Davis said, "But it's true that Veemon was the one that delivered the finishing final blow that destroyed the viral Digimon responsible for the crisis that threatened the stability and existence of the Digital World."

"Who was that Digimon?" Tai asked as Kari and TK all looked at Davis. Davis looked back at the group and revealed, "Millenniummon."

* * *

 **Tai, Kari and TK are finding that so much has happened without their knowing, which leads to so many questions about Davis and Veemon since they're at the center of it. Who was Millenniummon and what threat to the Digital World did he pose? How did Davis and Veemon stop Millenniummon and why weren't the other DigiDestined told about what was happening? And why is Davis being referred as "The Golden Child"? Find out next time.**


	3. Chapter Three: History Rebooted

**Chapter Three: History Rebooted**

* * *

 **A/N: I first want to give a special shout out and thanks to Masamune X23 for helping me with this chapter. With that said, here's the next chapter.**

* * *

"Millenniummon?" Tai repeated after hearing it from Davis' mouth, "I never heard of such a Digimon."

"We have," Patamon said with a shudder.

"He was one of the worst viral Digimon that ever existed," Gatomon added. Tai looked to Davis and asked, "When did you and Veemon first learn of Millenniummon?"

"Four years ago," Davis revealed, "Two months after the Digimon Invasion and Myotismon's attack."

"How do you know about Myotismon?" Tai asked.

"Veemon and I fought him before," Davis answered, "along with Etemon and Devimon."

"What?!" TK asked in disbelief recalling how Patamon as Angemon died once battling Devimon, "What do you mean you fought Devimon?"

"I'm surprised you even mentioned Etemon!" Tai said, "Those were all dangerous Digimon we faced off against before. How could you have possibly fought them after we dealt with them?"

"I'll explain everything much clearer if you just hear me out first without bombarding me with so many questions," Davis replied patiently while rubbing his forehead.

"Tai, TK," Kari said, "Let Davis explain his story so we can better understand what happened in his past and how our Digimon were involved."

"Alright," Tai agreed and turned over to Davis, "So tell us your story. It must be one to hear and listen to."

"My story starts with the DigiWorld's legend of the Golden Child," Davis started off, "The legend spoke about how the Golden Child is the one who will always bring about a miracle to the grimmest of situations against the forces of darkness and how it's through the power of Miracles that the other eight crests obtained their powers for the important aspects that lead to miracles themselves."

"So in a nutshell you're saying that you possess the source of power behind our crests," Tai remarked with some interest in hearing about the possible source of their crests.

"No, the power of Miracles is not the source of your crests' powers, but the origin of where they came from," Davis clarified, "Think of the power of Miracles as a tree and your crests as the fruit that grew from it before they were harvested when ripe for the DigiDestined to use. Your crests' powers wouldn't disappear if the power of Miracles disappeared."

Tai, TK and Kari found this to be a surprising revelation as Davis was basically saying that he wielded the power that led to their crests' existence.

"So then if the power of Miracles is where our crests originated from, then where did the crest of Miracles itself originate from?" TK questioned as he had assumed Kari being the bearer of the crest of Light was the highest force against darkness due to being its opposite element and how she was what led to the defeat of Myotismon.

"That's something I don't know because all I'm saying is what I've learned from the DigiWorld's legends and stories," Davis stated and continued, "In any case, many thought the Golden Child to be nothing more than a myth just like how they used to believe that Veemon was just a legend."

"Why was he considered a legend?" Kari asked since they never heard of any Digimon who were considered myths.

"Veemon is an ancient Digimon that fought many battles as the only dragon Digimon of his kind many years ago. But something happened that led him to be sealed away for a very long time to the point that he was forgotten and thought to be a legend. And it was said that only the Golden Child would become his new partner."

"And by freeing Veemon from his confinement," Tai said as a matter fact, "Everyone since then believes that you're the Golden Child."

"That," Davis added, "And what happened two months after the whole Digimon Invasion made that belief more accepted. A viral composite Digimon of unknown origins DNA digivolved with a very weaken and wounded Dark Master once known as Machinedramon."

"Machinedramon!?" Tai exclaimed, "How is that possible!? Agumon as WarGreymon destroyed him!"

"Or so you guys thought," Davis remarked, "I heard from your Digimon how you did destroy Machinedramon. But despite that his data still existed and was collected by the Digimon known as Apocalymon who used it to gain access to the Dark Master's attacks. They even said that the claw that contained the Dark Master's data even partially turned into him.

"Yeah but we destroyed Apocalymon and his claws." Tai said as he recalled the final and toughest battle they fought in their journey. "How could Machinedramon have still existed after that?"

"Well from what Millenniummon himself said, it would seem that even though you and WarGreymon destroyed Machinedramon's body and then Apocalymon, his data was still intact even as he was falling to pieces. When you destroyed his claws the one that contained Machinedramon's data survived and returned to the Digital World where he went into hiding, trying to reform and revive himself back into physical form. That recovering data was found by the unknown Digimon and forced into a DNA digivolution with him.

"What's DNA digivolution?" Kari asked curiously.

"That's what happens when two Digimon of equal levels combined and fuse to become a whole new Digimon," Davis said, "In fact I believe WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon once DNA digivolved to become Omnimon."

"You know about that too?" TK asked.

"I recall seeing that big battle when WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon were both fighting that internet invading virus Diaboromon," Davis explained, "I didn't understand what was happening back then, but I do now after Gabumon told me about it some time ago. I believe his human partner is Yamato Ishida. I heard he used to play the harmonica back then too."

"That's my older brother," TK pointed out.

"So he's Matt?" Davis said, pretending to put two and two together, "Small world, huh? Anyway, we're getting off track. As I was saying earlier, that Digimon and Machinedramon fused and became that dark Digimon that was known as Millenniummon, a terrifying menace unlike any Digimon you guys have ever encountered.

"Millenniummon started creating havoc in the Digital World. To the horrors of many other Digimon, Millenniummon was able to collect data and used it to create clones of Devimon, Etemon and Myotismon and use them as his personal minions. But it gets so much worse."

"I'm afraid to ask but how worse did things get?" Kari inquired after hearing about the revival of their enemies. Although she and Gatomon weren't there during Devimon and Etemon's reign of terror she did hear all about them from Tai and from what she heard they were no pushovers. Devimon was supposedly the strongest Champion level Digimon they ever faced who defeated the six of them but was defeated by Angemon whose powers were the most effective against him. Etemon, who while being an Ultimate level Digimon like Myotismon, wasn't a more dangerous opponent than Devimon or the vampire Digimon. He may have been stronger than Devimon but he wasn't as dangerous as their other enemies considering Tai alone with MetalGreymon managed to defeat him.

Although she did hear from Mimi and Joe that Etemon had returned as a Mega level during their battle against the Dark Master Puppetmon, the guy still wasn't as great a threat.

"Well that would be when Millenniummon used a powerful attack that literally split the Digital World in two," Davis answered with a neutral expression.

"He had that much power!?" Tai asked in disbelief since the only Digimon they ever faced with that kind of power was Apocalymon when he tried to blow himself up to destroy the both the human and Digital World in a suicide attack.

"I told you he was unlike any Digimon you guys faced," Davis reminded and continued, "Veemon and I found out what was going on and journeyed to the Digital World to confront the new threat. Along the way, we met and were partnered with an Ultimate level dragon Digimon called Cyberdramon who aided us in battling this threat."

Tai turned to Agumon and asked, "Why didn't any of you guys send a distress message that this crisis was going on here?"

"I tried to," Agumon confessed, "But Millenniummon had me captured and turned into stone."

"He used the Etemon and Myotismon clones to ambush and capture the rest of us," Patamon added.

"We didn't have much of a chance to fight back after we were imprisoned and turned into stone," Gatomon stated, "We thought we were goners."

"When Millenniummon was created he gained the memories of Machinedramon which is how he learned about the DigiDestined, their partners and accomplishments. He knew you guys would be a threat to his plans so he set out to capture all of your partners to prevent them from contacting you and standing in his way. That was why it was up to me, Veemon and the Digimon allies we made to stop Millenniummon. But for his part, Millenniummon didn't bother with either me or my growing number of Digimon allies. He noted that I appeared to have a strange power and was content to simply observe me. When we finally managed to reach his castle, Veemon, Cyberdramon and the Digimon who joined our crusade battled and defeated the clones of Devimon, Etemon and Myotismon. After they were vanquished, Millenniummon appeared to face us.

"During that fierce battle, many Digimon died and wanting no more Digimon sacrificed, I managed to call a power many thought to be lost in legends. A light in the form of the golden radiance appeared around me that allowed me to summon the golden digi-egg of Miracles. With it, I used it to golden armor digivolve Veemon."

"Golden armor digivolve?" Kari asked, "We never heard of armor digivolution."

"Armor digivolution was an ancient art of digivolving and it was an art that was needed against Millenniummon," Davis explained and continued his story, "But golden armor digivolution is unique from normal armor digivolution and through it, Veemon became Magnamon, a majestic royal knight Digimon with the strength of a powerful Mega. As Magnamon, he radiated power that was able to not only reenergize the nearby Digimon but also cause them to digivolve one level as Rookies became Champions and Champions became Ultimate. Not only that but the power of Miracles had also restored the Digital World back to a whole.

"With our new stronger army Magnamon led a fierce assault that at first seemed to turn the tides in our favor. But even with their new found strength, Millenniummon was still too strong."

"You mean even with an army of Champion and Ultimate level Digimon by your side, Millenniummon was still too much for them to handle!?" Tai asked with disbelief at hearing one Digimon overwhelming an army. It almost sounded too unreal to be true; but then again Omnimon had fought and defeated a large army of Diaboromon although that evil virus Digimon might have been beaten before then by WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon if they hadn't been suffering from low processing speed due to all of the kids sending them e-mails which greatly reduced their movements, speed and reactions.

"That's how big a threat he was," Davis mentioned before continuing, "Anyway we knew we had to find a way to defeat him so Magnamon lured him into outer space where the army followed and re-engaged against him on one of the Digital World's moons."

"You fought against an evil Digimon from outer space!?" Kari said with some awe at that revelation.

Davis shook his head, "Not me, I couldn't breathe in space so I maintained a communication link with Magnamon to assist with the battle," Davis eyes then took a more solemn look at what he would say next, "Despite the change in territory to avoid damaging the Digital World in the ensuing conflict, Millenniummon began to eradicate our army, using his unique ability to destroy the Digimon…and permanently delete them."

The eyes of Tai, TK and Kari widened upon hearing that and what it meant.

"You mean…" Kari asked with a hand to her mouth in horror.

"They were permanently killed with no chance of being reborn," TK finished with a downed look.

Davis gave a nod so small it only looked he tilted his head down, "I don't know how he did it but Millenniummon possessed the power to permanently erase data. Magnamon saw this and knew the situation was direr than we thought and had to find a way to defeat him before all the Digimon who joined us were wiped out."

"So then how did you guys win?" Tai asked as he was starting to get restless and upset at all the horrid things they were being told had happened without them knowing about it.

Davis looked up at them as he gazed into their eyes before he gave a small smile and then turned to look out the distance towards a certain place in the Digital World, "You can thank the valiant sacrifice of the Digimon. When they saw that Magnamon was the only one who could at least stand up to Millenniummon, they made the ultimate sacrifice by giving up all of their power to him and reverting themselves back into unborn digi-eggs that returned to Primary Village.

"With the powers of all of our remaining allies, Magnamon used his Magna Explosion attack, a move only to be used as a last resort. He gathered all the power he gained and what he had left before he used it to create an explosion of unimaginable proportions that literally decimated the moon and shook the Digital World from the blast wave but not as much as Millenniummon who was literally vaporized by the attack and finally defeated. Had Magnamon not been able to control the explosion output the attack would've surely caused tremendous damage to the Digital World. With Millenniummon's defeat, Agumon and the others were finally freed from their stone statue captivity."

Agumon and the others gave an appreciative look at hearing that part of the story as Davis finished up his tale.

"In but doing those things, we exhausted the power of the golden digi-egg as it vanished from our possession to some unknown corner of the Digital World. Me and Veemon have been searching for it ever since, trying to find it so it can at least be in our safe possession," Davis then revealed the golden necklace and crest that he wore, "This golden necklace around my neck is the embodiment of only half of that power. The other half is with the lost golden digi-egg."

"You led an army of Digimon to battle against what others would have considered impossible odds!" Tai praised in admiration, "But I'm even more amazed and stupefied that you managed to do such things and succeed on your own when you were only 8 years old!"

Hearing that age hammered the nail deeper into the coffin in that it made TK and Kari understand the seriousness of the situation Davis was under given his age then.

"You were by yourself as an 8-year-old child with no one else with you except Veemon and the other Digimon who joined you?" Kari asked Davis with a speechless expression.

"It was hard for me and the others during our first adventures in the Digital World and Kari and I were also eight years old back then," TK noted, "But the difference is that Kari and I had our older brothers with us along with-"

"Sora, Izzy, Mimi, and Joe, I know," Davis interjected.

"You know?" Tai said now piecing things together, "Then that means you knew we were DigiDestined for all these years!"

"…I did," Davis admitted.

"Why didn't you ever tell us you were a DigiDestined and that all those things happened without our knowing of it?" Tai asked while being upset at Davis.

"I'm sorry I kept that secret to myself from you guys for all these years," Davis apologized and then pointed out, "But at the same time neither you, Kari or Sora ever told me anything about you guys being DigiDestined or your experiences in the DigiWorld. All of us are guilty of keeping secrets from each other."

"I really wanted to tell you Davis," Kari spoke up, "I almost did too. But both Tai and Sora forbade me from doing so."

"Thanks for throwing us under the bus Kari," Tai remarked with a frown on his face.

"I'm sorry but Davis is right in that we're all guilty of keeping secrets from each other," Kari replied, "I couldn't stand by and let you be a hypocrite in being upset and questioning Davis for not telling us anything when you didn't allow me or yourself to tell him anything either."

Tai frowned at Kari but gave no retort as he saw her point.

 _'Lately Kari has become more protective of Davis,'_ Tai thought while TK was having similar thoughts along those lines.

"Hey don't let it bother you. Besides it's not like keeping the secret of me being a DigiDestined was something top secret of great importance. I just helped out when I did. Besides my story doesn't end there; that was just part one," Davis stated gaining back everyone's attention.

"You mean there's more?" TK asked.

"Two years later, Veemon and I discovered that Millenniummon had somehow reappeared and started creating problems for the Digital World again. We journeyed to the DigiWorld and found Cyberdramon there waiting for us. I was joined by another boy who was also summoned to the Digital World to help out. We joined up to stop Millenniummon once and for all and traveled to a mountain where we heard Millenniummon was last seen. Upon our arrival, Millenniummon appeared with his minions of dark Digimon.

"We had to defeat six rounds of enemies before we got to Millenniummon. But with the golden digi-egg missing, I was unable to golden armor digivolve Veemon into Magnamon. However thankfully we had discovered that Millenniummon had returned incomplete as his powers were far weaker than when we first fought him. His strength couldn't have been greater than a Mega level Digimon like the Dark Masters. Sadly during that fierce battle, Millenniummon fatally wounded Cyberdramon and launched his Dark Spores at me. My human partner though took the blow as he pushed me out of the way. Before Cyberdramon's data could be deleted by Millenniummon, Cyberdramon had Veemon absorb and upload his data into himself.

"Like DNA digivolving?" Kari asked.

"No," Davis clarified somberly, "Nothing of that sort at all. It was pure assimilation and completely irreversible."

"So Cyberdramon can never be reborn," TK realized as did the others.

"No," Veemon confirmed, "But that was Cyberdramon's self-sacrificial offer over deletion. He chose to have his data integrated into me, permanently becoming part of me as his final act in our fight against Millenniummon. The infusion of his data gave me a powerful boost in strength, speed and caliber. With it, I was somehow able to digivolve all the way to my Ultimate form, and using every bit of energy I had, I battled Millenniummon. Though it gave us a strong comeback against that Digimon, it still wasn't enough."

"And out of desperation," Davis spoke in, "I somehow managed to summon the power of Miracles out of my necklace to temporarily give my Digimon partner a massive power boost which he used to destroy Millenniummon once and for all. When it was all over my human ally and I parted ways. We returned to our homes, but…he broke off contact with me since. But I'm sure someday I'll run into him again."

"What was his name?" Kari asked.

"If it's alright with you guys, I'd rather not mention it…at least for now," Davis requested, "I have my reasons."

"I understand," Kari said.

"For a school genius you're a real fighter Davis," Tai complimented, "It took me and the others a much longer time to learn how to work and fight together as a team. And even then we had friction with each other."

"That's to be expected from teammates, you can get along but still have some occasional disagreements. I'm sure it must have been quite a sight," Davis remarked with a smirk.

"Speaking of sight," Agumon recalled, "Tai and I came across something earlier before you guys showed up. Follow me."

The orange dinosaur led them to a nearby cave where he showed them an unusual egg with flame-like designs and a metallic horn sticking out of it. On its front, the crest of Courage was engraved.

"What is that?" Patamon asked.

"I feel sorry for the chicken that laid that horned egg," Gatomon remarked, "Do you suppose it was taken from Primary Village and placed here?"

"It's not that kind of digi-egg," Davis stated causing the group to look at him, "That's the digi-egg of Courage."

"So that's what it is?" Tai asked, "Is there anything else I should know?"

"Davis has been doing some secret investigations on his own about this new enemy calling himself the Digimon Emperor who's enslaving Digimon with something called Dark Rings and causing trouble in the Digital World," Kari explained, "He also told us about these Control Spires being set up that prevent Digimon from digivolving. From what Davis explained, the Digimon Emperor is mounting an army to himself with his enslaved Digimon."

"That just about sums up exactly what's been happening," Agumon confirmed.

"And I lost my tail ring during one of the Digimon Emperor's attacks," Gatomon said as she revealed her tail which was missing her golden ring, "I barely escaped from him when he nearly enslaved me with one his Dark Rings."

Tai listened carefully to the testimonies he was being told while shocked about how much Davis experienced and learned on his own. He then knelt down to lift up the digi-egg, believing that since it had the crest of Courage it was meant for him. But he was surprised when the egg wouldn't budge an inch no matter how hard he pulled. It felt like he was trying to lift a car sized boulder from the ground.

"It won't move," Tai said with some confusion on why that was.

"Let me try to lift up that digi-egg," TK volunteered as he approached the digi-egg and bent down towards it. Davis in the meantime looked on with amusement as TK tried to lift the digi-egg but failed and fell on his butt. He snickered behind his hand, causing Kari to glare at him.

"Out of the way, this is clearly a woman's job!" Kari declared as TK stepped back and allowed Kari to come forward. However, she too failed to lift it.

"A woman's job you say?" Davis remarked with an amused tone, "How presumptuous Kari."

"Oh who asked you Davis?" Kari retorted before sticking her tongue out at him.

"While I'm flattered that you want to give me tongue and perhaps a little more Kari, please don't display such shameless behavior in front of your brother and everybody here," Davis said mischievously, causing the girl to gasp and clasp her mouth with her hands as she blushed darkly after understanding the implication behind Davis' words. TK however wasn't amused by Davis' words. But before TK could say anything about it…

"Watch it Davis!" Tai warned indignantly, "Don't make such brazen comments towards my sister while I'm standing here please!"

"What can I say Tai?" Davis said as he grinned and approached the digi-egg and easily lifted it up off the ground as if it weighed as much as an apple, "I'm one who's known for my boldness."

"You lifted the digi-egg of Courage with no problem!" Tai said in disbelief, "I have the crest of Courage and yet I couldn't lift it up at all."

"Well either that's because the digi-egg thinks I'm more courageous than you or because it senses that you lack courage where you need it most," Davis remarked lowly, but loud enough for Tai to hear him.

"What was that wise guy?" Tai retorted with a sudden look of displeasure as he seemed to take offense.

"What I mean is that Sora is still waiting for you," Davis stated straightforwardly earning a startled look from Tai, "But your lack of courage and fears are causing you to waste and lose time and it will cost you _dearly_!"

While TK didn't understand what Davis was talking about Kari completely did, and was rather annoyed by Davis' "straight to the point" approach to it.

"Why you!" Tai growled as he grabbed and pulled Davis up towards his face by his collar. Davis didn't brother to trying to defend himself as Tai looked ready to hurt him.

"Tai!" Kari called out in an effort to calm her brother down from actually hurting Davis. However Davis thrust his left hand out and gestured to Kari and the others to stay where they were and not to intervene. Unwillingly Kari complied though she stayed alert just in case her brother got out of line.

"Tai," Davis began, "Agumon once told me how you were a fearless leader who stood against your enemies to protect your friends and family. But now, even though you still have that courage, you're also filled with fear towards yourself which may be why the digi-egg didn't accept you, because your heart now lacks courage."

"What are you getting at?" Tai asked while still holding Davis by the collar of his jacket.

"You're afraid to go after the one you truly want and desire," Davis calmly reasoned, "Is fear of rejection holding you back or is it the fear of what will happen to your friendship that keeps you silent?"

"And what would you know?" Tai asked with his anger slowly building up like a volcano that was beginning to awaken. Kari had a worried look on her face while hoping Tai wouldn't do anything to hurt Davis.

"I know nobody wants to be rejected," Davis said sternly, "But it's better to have courageously tried and be rejected than to live the rest of our lives regretting not trying at all. You have nothing to lose except the one you want if you let someone else beat you to the punch because of your constant procrastination, self-doubts and fears! Tell me which options sounds better: risking rejection with no regrets though there's a chance of success or living with regrets that your lack of courage will express?"

Unknown to Tai was that Davis' eyes shifted to Kari for a moment when he said the last part before returning to look at Tai's intensely. Tai thought about what Davis said. Both boys had direct eye contact with each other as Davis stared at Tai with a calm but stern look. Kari, TK and the Digimon in the cave watched as Tai calmly released Davis from his grip.

"You're right Davis," Tai admitted as he released Davis and lowered his right fist, "I was a coward, and it took someone with stronger courage than me to make me realize that. And I'm sorry for reacting aggressively that way towards you like that."

"It's OK and I wouldn't say you are a coward, just that you lost your nerve," Davis assured and returned to the original subject, "But it's not too late Tai. You still have time but don't waste it and allow someone else to win the one you want over before you do. You will forever regret that mistake like so many others have, trust me on that."

"Alright Davis," Tai agreed and then suggested, "Since you're bold and good with your words, maybe I can use you as my wingman."

"Sure it never hurts to help in that department," Davis agreed.

"Did I miss something Kari?" TK asked with a confused expression, "What are Davis and Tai talking about?"

"I asked Davis to talk to Tai about something earlier," Kari remarked, "But it's beyond me how Davis' unorthodox methods of getting my brother to listen to him actually works out for him. Then again, I did trust and express confidence that Davis would succeed in getting Tai to listen to him."

While this was going on, a Dark Ring flew in through the opening. The others couldn't feel it but the ring was radiating with a dark aura as it seemed to observe the ones below.

* * *

(At An Unknown Location)

A 12-year-old kid dressed up in an outfit that clearly showed he had no fashion sense and covered with a dark purple cape sat in a chair in a monitor room, looking at the many different screens. His sun-glass covered eyes scooted between the monitors until he froze at a certain screen that was showing three youths in a cave in the forest. However, his eyes were glued to the maroon-haired boy being shown on the screen.

"Davis!" the Digimon Emperor growled, "I should have counted on his return to the DigiWorld! He could ruin everything! I have to do something before this gets out of hand!"

Wormmon appeared and looked at the monitor screen showing Davis and the others.

"Oh how nice Ken, it's Daisuke Motomiya," Wormmon said, "I didn't expect him to be here again."

"Nor did I," Ken replied, "Which is why I'm giving him a little greeting."

"That's wonderful," Wormmon agreed, "It's been such a long time since the last time we were all together. Shall I prepare for us to meet him in person?"

"Don't be stupid!" Ken sneered, "I have a different idea for how to greet my hated rival and former comrade."

He pressed a button and a list of all the Digimon he had in the nearby area appeared out of nowhere. He checked over it.

"Damn it!" Ken cursed, "None of my stronger ones are near!" He then calmed himself when he decided to choose multiple subjects to deal with him. Ken pressed a few buttons in thin air and one of the screens showed how three enslaved dinosaur-type Digimon were released from their resting place.

"Attack, Monochromon!" Ken shouted to no one in particular, "Deal with the intruders, but your prime target is the one with the blue dragon Digimon, Daisuke Motomiya!"

The three mind-controlled Monochromon gave a loud roar and marched towards the position of their targets.

* * *

(Meanwhile)

"Well there's nothing more to find inside here so let's get out of this cave," Tai suggested. The others just nodded and the group hurried for the exit. However, as soon as they exited the cave and got a short distance from it, the ground began to shake with the tremor growing stronger.

 _'Ken is taking action now!'_ Davis thought and then warned, "Guys! We're under attack!"

"What makes you think that?" TK asked.

 **"Volcanic Strike!"** came the roar of one of the Monochromon as it rained down fireballs at them.

"Get down!" Davis yelled grabbed Kari and pulled her down to the ground out of harm's way. Veemon did likewise with Gatomon, with Tai and TK also ducking for cover along with Agumon and Patamon.

"Any more questions?" Davis replied while cursing under his breath. Davis got up off the ground and helped Kari up with the rest of the gang hurrying to get back on their feet. Davis's demeanor changed into one showing that he was on full alert. Veemon followed his example and got ready to fight. With a roar, a Monochromon with a Dark Ring around its waist stormed out of the woods as it came to a stop in a clearing.

"Monochromon!" Agumon explained, "He's a dinosaur-type Champion-level Digimon and his choice of attack is Volcanic Strike!"

Gatomon didn't wait around as she went on the offense.

 **"Lightning Paw!"** Gatomon shouted as she charged at the "possessed" Digimon. Her attack didn't make contact when a second Monochromon with a Dark Ring around its waist seemingly came out of nowhere and rammed her with its hard head sending her in the opposite direction of her initial attack. Gatomon gave a cry of pain before she hit the ground hard and rolled a few times on it. She lied there motionlessly, clearly being knocked unconscious.

"Gatomon!" Kari cried as she hurried as fast as she could over to her partner. She didn't get to reach her partner when a third Monochomon also possessing a Dark Ring around its waist appeared from the woods and fired a blast that knocked her off her feet and down to the ground.

"Kari!" Tai and TK screamed in fear after seeing the ambush that took place. Kari tried to move but the piercing pain in her right ankle made it difficult to stand and walk.

"Tai! Help!" Kari screamed, "I don't think I can move on my ankle!"

 _'What the Hell!?'_ Davis thought after seeing the seriousness of the situation, _'In the past, Ken only sent one Monochromon out after us! Now he sent three out after us?! Shit! Things really did change drastically!'_

Davis held and got ready to use his digi-egg.

"Guys, listen!" Davis instructed, "Head back to the cave and take cover there! Veemon and I will handle this!"

"Are you crazy!?" TK argued with an alarmed look on his face, "You and Veemon can't possibly handle those three Champion Digimon on your own and Gatomon was the only Champion Digimon we had!"

"TK!" Davis reminded, "Agumon and Patamon can't digivolve, so where it stands, you guys are sitting ducks and can't fight!"

Davis didn't give TK or the others time to argue when he and Veemon ran from the group. The three Monochromon, remembering the Digimon Emperor's instructions about their main target, charged and rushed toward Davis and Veemon. Kari and Gatomon however were in the path of the third Monochromon charging at Davis, and seeing this, Kari looked on and screamed in fear for the worst as the Monochromon was about to stampede and trample over her.

"Kari!" Tai screamed as he attempted to get to her but was too far to reach her. Everything seemed to slow down as Kari realized her brother wouldn't get to her in time. Davis however, being closer and quick on his feet, rushed into her direction and scooted her up off the ground bridal style with Veemon retrieving and cradling the unconscious Gatomon before the Monochromon could crush them under his feet. Rushing to a nearby tree, Davis and Veemon set Kari and Gatomon down and got ready to fight.

"Let's do this Veemon!" Davis shouted a determined tone.

"I'm ready!" Veemon shouted.

"Digi-Armor Energize!" Davis yelled out loudly as he held up the digi-egg of Courage in his right hand. The digi-egg glowed bright red and engulfed Veemon in the same glow.

"Veemon armor digivolve tooo…Flamedramon, the Fire of Courage!"

As the light faded, it revealed what looked like a taller and slimmer version of Veemon, covered in flame patterned armor on his claws, head, chest, knees and feet. From the front of his head, the knife-like spike from the digi-egg stuck out like a horn.

"This is what I'm talking about!" Flamedramon declared.

"Kick their asses Flamedramon!" Davis exclaimed.

"With pleasure!" Flamedramon agreed before he charged and tackled the closest Monochromon to the ground. He didn't rest as he quickly jumped off the ground and…

 **"Fire Rocket!"** Flamedramon yelled out as both of his armored fists ignited with power and fired off a barrage of fireballs that rained down like a meteor shower on the three Monochromon.

"Armor...Digivolution?" Tai said with an expression of amazement, "Well that's new."

Flamedramon narrowed his eyes as he focused in on the first dark ring. He then took a deep breath as he jumped into the air and covered himself with flames.

 **"Fire Rocket!"** Flamedramon shouted as he dove for the Dark Ring. The Monochromon moved out of the way narrowly avoiding being struck by Flamedramon's attack.

"You know I'm going to eventually roast you and your friends too!" Flamedramon declared before the Monochromon roared and charged at him. In the meantime, the two other Monochromon turned their attention towards Davis. The world seemed to slow down around him as Davis' mind processed the look the second and third Monochromon's glowing red eyes told him.

 _'They're aiming to attack me,'_ Davis realized.

 **"Volcanic Strike!"** the third Monochromon screamed as it fired its fireball attack into Davis' direction. As if in slow motion, Kari saw the attack coming their way and tried to move out of the way. Davis, moving fast on his feet, reached down and scooted Kari and Gatomon into his arms again and lounged forward just barely missing being hit by the Monochromon's attack as it blew up the tree and ground spot they previous were standing at into a burning rubble.

"Davis! Kari!" both Tai and TK screamed in fear as they watched how the Monochromon just barely missed her and Davis with its deadly attack. Davis continued carrying Kari and Gatomon in his arms and jumped out of the way as the second Monochromon charged at them. Just like before, Davis just barely missed being struck by the beast's tusks as it ran past them. Thankfully the speed at which the Monochromon had charged this time drove it further away from them before it could turn around. This gave Davis some time to make some distance from them while Kari held onto him tightly. However that moment of peace was gone as the Monochromon who shot the fireballs looked ready to charge at Davis.

"Oh crud," Davis said before he set Kari and Gatomon down by an unburned tree, "Kari," Davis instructed, "I want you to stay here with Gatomon while I lure the Monochromon into following me."

"You can't possibly be serous!" Kari argued.

"If you value your own and Gatomon's lives, which I know you do, then you'll trust me," Davis replied, "Besides it doesn't look like it's you or the others those Monochromon are after."

Kari now understood that Davis was the target of their attack all along, and it was all the more why she didn't want to let him go as she gave him a pleading look. But Davis gave her a look that asked her to trust him and with reluctance, she finally released her hold on him and watched him take a few steps forward. Davis then yelled and challenged, "Hey stupid ass!" Davis then stuck his right middle finger up at the Monochromon, "See if you can catch me!"

With a furious roar, the Monochromon rushed towards Davis at full speed. Kari shrieked at the sight of the deranged dinosaur Digimon running after Davis as he started running from it in a different direction.

"Is Davis crazy!?" TK shouted in disbelief as he, Tai, Agumon and Patamon watched the scene from a distance.

"No," Tai realized, "He's luring it away from Kari and Gatomon! And while he's keeping it distracted, let's get to Kari and Gatomon!" Tai advised as he hurried over to where his sister was with TK, Agumon and Patamon following close by.

Davis continued to run as he looked around him to see trees up ahead. Meanwhile Flamedramon was literally cornered against a boulder as he was pushing the same Monochromon from before back to prevent it from trying to impale him with its large horn. And lastly the third Monochromon was standing over a distance apparently waiting to see if the one charging at Davis would succeed in trampling him. Davis looked ahead to the approaching tree and an upper branch that he could reach as an idea suddenly came to him, but not one that he particularly liked.

"I just know I'm going to regret this," Davis mumbled to himself as the dinosaur chasing him was just over 12 feet from reaching him. Wasting no time Davis ran for the nearby tree and raised both hands as he jumped and grabbed hold of the branch. What happened next could only be described as a feat of athleticism. He swung both his legs forward the moment they were off the ground and propelled his body forward as it swung over the branch and then back down where he landed on the charging Monochromon's back and grabbed hold of the horns on its frill.

Needless to say the mind controlled Digimon didn't appreciate this as he started swinging his head around, stomping the ground and bucking around back and forth like an angry bull with rabies. Davis literally hanged on for dear life less he be violently thrown to the ground.

"WHY DID I THINK THIS WAS A GOOD IDEA!?" Davis shouted to no one in particular as the dinosaur Digimon kept trying to shake him off with growing anger at his unwanted rider.

"He's either really brave or really crazy," Tai said to himself while watching what had to be the craziest rodeo.

"And you disagreed with me earlier when I asked if Davis is crazy," TK remarked while watching the scene with Kari and the others. The unengaged Monochromon watching the rodeo scene had enough and approached them both where it reared its head back for a moment before the expected happened.

 **"Volcanic Strike!"** The second Monochromon shouted as he fired multiple fireballs at Davis and his fellow Monochromon.

"DAVIS LOOK OUT!" Kari shouted in warning as Davis turned to see the approaching fireballs.

"That's my cue to leave!" Davis expressed with some panic before letting go of the horns and allowing the angry Monochromon to throw him off where he roughly landed and rolled on the ground on a grassy area that at least helped cushion his fall somewhat. The fireballs struck only the Monochromon he had been riding on, who groaned in pain before turning to glare at the one who shot him and roaring at him.

The third Monochromon roared back as he clearly wasn't going to apologize, which was all the second one needed to know before he charged at his ally who mimicked him as the two met and crashed into each other and began a reverse tug of war trying to push the other back.

"Oowww…" Davis groaned, "I'm going to be feeling that tomorrow," Davis softly spoke as he got up from the ground while rubbing his back a bit. But then he got a surprised and satisfied look when he saw the two Monochromon had forgotten about him and were now fighting each other for dominance.

"Not exactly what I planned but it works for me," Davis commented. Meanwhile, Flamedramon was still fighting the first Monochromon who seemed to be fighting smarter than the first time they clashed. It had yet to notice its two companions squabbling with themselves. Seeing this, Flamedramon saw he had to make haste before the opportunity vanished.

"I've had just about enough of you!" Flamedramon growled and with a show of strength used his left arm to lift Monochromon by the neck till his front feet were off the ground and his stomach was exposed, along with the Dark Ring. He charged up his armored right fist and roared loudly, **"FLAMING FIST!"**

Flamedramon punched his fist forward and fired a large fire ball directly at the exposed ring, blasting the Digimon completely off the ground for a second as he was covered in flames. The Dark Ring was disintegrated by the flames just as the Monochromon crashed landed onto the ground. The dazed and battered Digimon slowly stood back up and asked, "What happened? Why were we fighting each other?"

"You were under the Digimon Emperor's control," Flamedramon explained, "You're freed now."

"Flamedramon!" Davis called out from a distance as he got his partner's attention, "It's now or never!"

"I'm on it!" Flamedramon complied as he charged up with an aura of flames surrounding his body. He flew to the air and dashed forward to the second Monochromon. The said Digimon turned to see the fire armored dragon flying his way and both he and the third disregarded their earlier conflict to fight their enemy again.

 **"Volcanic Strike!"** the second Monochromon yelled out as it blasted a large fireball into Flamedramon's path. With its armored fist, Flamedramon punched through the attack and continued his way towards the enslaved dinosaur Digimon.

 **"Fire Rocket!"** Flamedramon cried out as he aimed his attack straight into the Dark Ring around the Monochromon's waist. But the Monochromon tried to swing its tail at Flamedramon in order to knock him off balance. Thankfully, Flamedramon flew and evaded the swinging tail attack and thrust his initial attack at the Dark Ring, striking and destroying it on contact. The red glow in the Monochromon's eyes vanished, returning the creature back to normal.

"What happened?" the Monochromon asked with a confused tone, "What's going on?"

"You're freed from a nightmare," Flamedramon replied, "Now to free your third friend from his."

Flamedramon turned his attention to the last enslaved Monochromon that had moved to the middle of the clearing.

"Flamedramon!" Davis instructed, "Finish the job!"

"Got it!" Flamedramon said, **"Flaming Fist!"**

Flamedramon charged at his enemy who shot more fireballs at him but in a show of agility he dodged them all before jumping into the air and flipping over Monochromon before he expanded his arms and legs to stop in midair and deliver a powerful jab to the Dark Ring which disintegrated it into a forgotten memory, freeing the last one at last who suddenly looked around in confusion before being joined by the other two freed Monochromon.

The fire armed Digimon went over to his human partner and remarked, "Taking such a dangerous risk by tricking that Monochromon into chasing after you like that before riding on its back?" Flamedramon grinned and stated, "I expected nothing less from you bro!"

"It wasn't all that hard for me to do," Davis replied, "Considering that I was their target from the start."

"What do you mean?" Flamedramon asked.

"What I mean is that those three Monochromon were sent after me," Davis clarified, "The Digimon Emperor clearly sees me as a threat if you get my drift."

Flamedramon nodded his head, understanding what Davis was talking about. He reverted back into Veemon with the digi-egg teleporting and being stored into Davis' D3. Davis returned to Kari who was nursing Gatomon who started waking up. Tai and TK were standing around her with their Digimon partners.

"Well, the danger is over," Davis remarked, "At least for now. Thankfully all of you are safe."

"That was insane and brave what you did," Tai praised, "Distracting that Digimon and having it chase after you like that to get it away from Kari."

"Your safety and that of your sister's and TK's was a priority," Davis replied, "That was all that mattered."

"Those Digimon could have killed you though!" TK pointed out, "They almost did too!"

"That's not surprising," Davis remarked just as calmly, "I was their target from beginning of that attack."

"How could you be so calm about that after everything that's happened!?" TK asked with a bit of frustration.

"Because I've faced many dangers alone far worse than that before," Davis said with part of his true adult character coming to the front, "I'm more than capable of taking care of myself TK, remember that."

The vibe that was coming off of Davis was enough to get TK to back off and apologize, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to react that way. It's that I felt so helpless being unable to do anything to help stop those Digimon."

"It's nothing to worry yourself about," Davis assured, "Like I said, the danger is over."

"Still Davis," Tai admired, "Both you and your partner are really amazing! I'm happy you guys were actually here, otherwise-"

"It doesn't need to said Tai," Davis interjected, "I'm just happy that I was able to help where I could," Davis then wondered, _'If this drastic change took place I wonder what else Veemon and I are to expect. Then again, the last four years were anything but what I experienced the first time in my previous life.'_

"Kari," Tai inquired as he knelt down to her, "Can you stand up?"

Kari was rubbing her right ankle and said, "It still hurts Tai."

Davis moved and knelt in front of Kari before taking hold of her right foot.

"What are you doing?" TK asked.

"Checking her foot to see if it's swollen," Davis replied as he removed her sneaker and sock.

"Well you're no Joe Kido," TK remarked.

"Meaning what exactly?" Davis asked pretending not to understand the implication.

"Joe was the medic of our group when we first come to the DigiWorld," Tai responded, "He's also the oldest out of us and his partner is Gomamon."

Davis just nodded and examined Kari's foot for anything that stood out while applying a gentle rub to try and ease the discomfort a bit. Kari winced a little from the pain as Davis continued his massage session on her ankle.

"Do you know what you're doing Davis?" TK questioned out of curiosity.

"If you're asking if I'm a doctor in training or something then no I'm not and honestly I don't have an interest in being one," Davis answered earning looks from Tai and TK, "However as a soccer player the worst injury for us is a leg injury which is why I did some studying on the basic injuries we tend to get like a bruise, sprain, cut, scrape or twisted ankle," Davis explained, "Leg injuries are the only thing I really know how to treat," Davis then reassured Kari, "Thankfully your foot isn't hurt too bad or swollen. You'll probably be walking better by tomorrow so long as you don't run around."

As Davis continued massaging her ankle, Kari couldn't help but enjoy the feeling of having her foot treated and rubbed down but it felt more gratifying that it was Davis' hands rubbing her. After about three minutes, Davis finished massaging her foot and placed her sock and sneakers back on.

"Try to stand back up now," Davis instructed as he stood back up and extended his hand out to her. Doing as she was asked, Kari reached out and grabbed Davis' hand just before he pulled her up off the ground. After taking a few steps, Kari found that her foot felt a lot better. There was still some discomfort and small bursts of pain but it was now manageable for her.

"Thanks Davis, my foot is much better," Kari said gratefully and added, "And thanks for saving my life."

"You're welcome," Davis replied with a reassuring smile and thumps up. Veemon came carrying Gatomon in his arms and went over to Kari. Agumon and Patamon followed close by.

"She'll be alright," Veemon assured as he handed Gatomon to Kari, "Her injury is minor at best although that clonk to the head might give her a headache when she wakes up in a few minutes."

"That's good to know," Kari said as she retrieved and cradled Gatomon's unconscious form, "Thank you."

The three Monochromon approached the DigiDestined and their partners. The middle one said, "We're deeply sorry for the troubles we've caused. What happened here was not our intentions in any way."

"We know," Davis said, "It was the Digimon Emperor who was behind the attack. We don't hold any of you three responsible for this."

"Thank you young lad," the Monochromon to the left said, "And thanks for freeing us from his control."

"That's what my friends and I are here for," Davis stated, "To put an end to the Digimon Emperor's tyranny."

"We hope for the best for you and your friends," the third Monochromon said, "Take care."

With that, the three Monochromon turned to leave DigiDestined and their partners peacefully as they left the area.

"Davis," Tai praised, "That was one of the bravest acts I've ever seen anyone do and you've clearly demonstrated that you know how to think on your feet while risking your life to save my sister and protect the rest of us. Plus you evidently are more aware of what's happening in the DigiWorld than any of us while unlocking a new type of digivolution to help defend both the Digital and Real World. These are things that make for a good leader."

Tai then removed his goggles and placed them over Davis' head.

"My goggles is my appointment of you as the new leader of the DigiDestined, Davis," Tai said with a confident grin, "I trust you'll do great and lead the new group the right way."

 _'Surprising…Tai's speech this time sounds more well thought out than before,'_ Davis thought in surprise while having feelings of nostalgia with Tai's goggles back around his head, _'It's funny having his goggles back on my head again after I stopped wearing them after I turned 16. As for leading the group, I'll be sure to keep them in check this time around.'_

TK had a surprise look on his face after seeing Tai choose and appoint Davis as the new leader.

"They look really cute on you Davis," Kari complimented with a sincere smile.

"Thanks," Davis smiled with a small chuckle, "I can't say that I'll be as great of a leader as Tai was but I'll try to live up to his expectations."

"You led an army into war and came out victorious Davis! I don't think my brother can put that on his leadership résumé," Kari joked, causing Davis, along with herself and the others to laugh.

"Ha ha ha! Very funny," Tai snorted and frowned. As this was going on, the Dark Ring from before was hovering about them.

* * *

(At An Unknown Location)

Ken was looking on at the screen with narrowed eyes as he watched the scene with Davis and the others play out.

"Davis is a challenge for me in the Real World," Ken remarked, "And now the Digital World brought him here to be a challenging foe to me again."

"Well you did proclaimed yourself as his rival," Wormmon commented, "Who better to compete with you on your level? By the way, what's a foe?"

* * *

(A While Later)

After destroying two Control Spires that were in the forest that was preventing the Digimon from digivolving earlier, the group made their way back towards the TV they teleported out of in order to return back to the Real World. While they were on their way, Davis was walking slightly behind the others, not wanting to let them out of his sight, in the event of another attack as Veemon was considered to be their best line of defense.

 _'I know Veemon and I have made a lot of changes since we were brought back to the past with me being forced to relive my youth,'_ Davis contemplated, _'And evidently our changes have triggered a domino effect causing other changes in events to take place. Things might not happen in the exact same way as they did before. Well in any case, I'd rather not repeat some of those events. But on a more serious note, Ken's attack on us was more fierce and deadlier than it was originally. I better not underestimate how deep Ken might have been affected by the changes I made in my life's choices.'_

"Hey Davis?"

The sound of Kari's voice brought Davis out of his musings and he looked up to find that they had already made it back to the TV-screen that would return them back to the Real World. TK and Tai had already gone through and it was only him and Kari left, along with the Digimon. Veemon, Gatomon, Agumon and Patamon were all chatting happily to the side. Veemon was especially happy to be able to converse with other Digimon. Davis' eyes rested on Veemon for a moment before he turned to meet Kari's eyes.

"Yeah, what is it?" Davis answered. Kari gave him a calculating glance, pondering if she really should dig into this right now. She swallowed, feeling a little nervous about how he would react.

"Up until today, we thought we were the only ones who had been here," Kari started off, "But you were summoned to the DigiWorld by yourself at the same age I first went and had to learn to do things and face dangers on your own. The way you took on those Monochromon…you showed no fear and…"

"And what?" Davis asked.

"I was afraid for you…afraid of losing you," Kari said softly, "You risked your life without hesitation or thinking twice about it despite knowing you were the one they were sent after."

"That's what leaders and friends do Kari," Davis stated with a small smile, "They put their lives on the line for the team and those they care about."

"By the way," Kari said and apologized, "I'm sorry I never told you about being a DigiDestined. Though Tai and Sora strictly forbade me from doing so, there were times I came close to disobeying them and telling you anyway. And there was the matter of whether or not you'd believe me."

"Digimon were attacking Odaiba, Kari. What wouldn't I believe from you?" Davis asked, "In any case let's head back, the others are waiting for us."

Davis turned Veemon and asked, "You coming?"

"Nyah! I'll stay here with the others if that's OK with you," Veemon responded.

"Not a problem," Davis consented, "Contact me if anything happens."

Veemon gave him a thumbs-up before watching Kari and his partner get sucked into the TV screen and sent back to the Real World. After they were gone, Veemon turned to Gatomon and asked, "Are you feeling better now? You took a nasty hit that time from Monochromon."

"I'll live," Gatomon replied and said gratefully, "Thanks for the save though. This armor digivolvution is new to me."

"I can tell you about it if you like to listen and take a walk with me," Veemon offered charmingly, "I'll also catch and feed you as much bluefin tuna and salmon as you want."

"You had me at bluefin tuna and salmon," Gatomon said with grin.

"Then let's go pussycat," Veemon said, only to suddenly have Gatomon's claws poised under his chin as she gave him a predatory look.

"Don't call me pussycat blue boy," Gatomon playfully threatened before lowering her claws after Veemon gave a nervous nod. Gatomon then walked ahead of him and gave a smirk, "So are you coming along or what?"

"I'm definitely joining," Veemon said while following after her before they started walking together from the TV-screen and the area, leaving Agumon and Patamon behind.

"Did those two forget we were here?" Patamon asked as he and Agumon watched the pair departing from them.

"I don't know," Agumon said while scratching his head, "But I know I'm famished and in need of some food myself. Hey, I wonder if Veemon will catch me some fish too!"

Agumon hurried to catch up with the pair.

"I don't think Veemon will appreciate you as a third wheel Agumon!" Patamon warned before flying to catch up with his orange reptilian friend.

* * *

(Back In The Computer Room)

Tai and the others were standing in the computer room thankful they avoided landing a body heap since they returned two at a time. By this time Cody had joined the crew after a particular phenomenon happened that resulted in him and Yolei getting D3s of their own. That happened after Tai found and touched the digi-egg of Courage that released two beams of light and teleported two D3s into the Real World and into Yolei's and Cody's hands. Tai and Davis went explained to Izzy, Yolei and Cody everything that happened and the new threat to the Digital World.

"This is a lot to take in all at once," Yolei remarked while Cody remained quiet with a contemplative look after listening to everything that was explained to him and the others in details.

"I understand how overwhelming all of this is and how hard to believe this situation is," Davis said, "But the Digital World chose you both to become new DigiDestined for one reason or another. The Digital World has a lot of amazing features and creatures but it also has a lot of dangers and nothing is to be taken for granted."

"This armor digivolution sound very fascinating," Izzy said with fascination, "None of us here has ever heard of such a digivolution."

"That's because armor digivolution is a lost and forgotten art," Davis revealed, earning everyone's attention.

"Care to elaborate?" Izzy asked.

"It was an ancient way of digivolving during the chaotic era of wars in the Digital World," Davis elaborated, "Digimon of long ago used and implemented it in many battles long before digivolution through their own strengths was discovered. My partner Veemon is one of those ancient Digimon who implemented armor digivolution and fought many battles as the only dragon Digimon of his kind. But after that chaotic era and armor digivolution came to an end, Veemon was sealed away and wasn't seen or heard from again for many years. In the process, he lost most of his memories and much about his past is a blur. My partner himself was forgotten for many years and many thought him to be a myth as a result."

"Prodigious!" Izzy remarked, "How did you find this all out?"

"Like I said before," Davis answered, "I've been doing some investigating on my own about the DigiWorld after Veemon and I found each other and became partners and friends years ago."

"That's quite an interesting story Davis," Kari commented.

"That may be so," Davis remarked, "But armor digivolution is an ancient art that will have to be implemented and used once again. That form of digivolution is immune to the effects of the Control Spires unlike regular digivolution."

"That means we older DigiDestined won't be able to help much," Izzy realized.

"Perhaps but we should still do what we can when we can," Tai stated as he turned to his sister and TK, "Agreed?"

Kari and TK agreed, "Yes."

"Well guys," Davis said, "This has clearly been a day filled with excitement and adventure. Cody, Yolei, I hope you both think deep about what we explained to you both today and don't tell anyone about you guys and us being DigiDestined or being able to go to the DigiWorld. Understand? It's important that we keep this secret and tell no one."

"I understand," Cody simply stated.

"Well it's not like my folks would have believe me anyway," Yolei remarked.

"Even if they did," Davis said, "It would be disastrous and tragic if the government or the military of any country could access the Digital World."

"What makes you say that?" Yolei inquired.

"They'll do exactly what the Digimon Emperor is doing: enslave and weaponize Digimon," Davis stated, "While researching and studying the Digital World is all beneficial for our understanding, not everyone will have such positive intentions for that world and its inhabitants. It's probably why we kids are chosen as DigiDestined because we wouldn't want to reveal its existence to the adults," Davis then thought, _'Ironic really since I'm an adult in mind and heart.'_

"I agree," Tai stated.

"Likewise," Izzy chimed in.

"But in any case," Davis replied as he started towards the door, "I said enough. I think I'll take my leave and head home now."

"You can't leave so soon Davis!" Yolei interjected.

"Huh?" Davis muttered with a confused look on his face as he turned to face Yolei, "And why not?"

Yolei went over to him and reminded, "We still have that study group session to go to after I asked you to be my study partner. Did you forget already?"

"Davis didn't actually agree to go with you Yolei," Kari muttered under her breath, though it was loud enough for TK and Tai to hear.

"I didn't forget Yolei," Davis replied, "But unfortunately a lot has happened today and I need some time to think things over, especially with a new danger that threatens us and DigiWorld. It's going to be up to us to stop it."

Yolei saw the seriousness in his eyes and expression.

"You're right," Yolei replied and then suggested, "Hey, since we have to be the ones to stop this new danger, maybe as we're walking home together you can tell me what dangers and adventures to expect."

"Yolei," Kari interjected as she walked over and stood by Davis, "You live in the opposite direction of town, nowhere close to where Davis lives."

"I can always take the bus back, so it's not a problem," Yolei countered.

"What about your study group?" Cody reminded.

"I'll call and tell them that something important came up and won't be able to make it today," Yolei suggested as she pulled out her phone and started dialing the number of one of her friends in the study group.

"Are you coming with us Cody?" Davis invited, "You are part of the new group I'm leading also."

"I can for a short while," Cody said, "But after that I have to head back home for Kendo lessons with my grandpa very soon."

"In that case, let's make our way out then," Davis suggested as he walked over and reached the door with Yolei and Cody following behind him. Though Yolei was hoping it was going to be just her and Davis, she was willing to have Cody tag along since she regarded him as a little brother. Davis opened the door and as he stepped out, he turned to Kari and said, "I'll meet up with you tomorrow morning. I'll call you if anything happens."

Kari nodded her head as she watched Davis leave the computer room with Yolei and Cody in company. After they left, TK turned to Kari and asked, "How did Davis meet Yolei? Both her and Cody live in my area."

"I was introduced to Yolei and Cody through Davis a year ago," Kari explained, "Davis met Yolei and Cody after winning that chess championship game when he beat another school genius from Tamachi in a shocking four-move checkmate."

"Even I was blown away by how Davis pulled it off so effectively," Izzy remarked, "Everyone in the chess and computer clubs was talking about it for days. It looked so simple how Davis did it but he strategically got his opponent to not suspect what he was planning."

"While all that about Davis is good," Tai remarked, "He evidently knows a lot about what's happened in our past with regards to our time in the Digital World with the Digimon and what's happening now in the DigiWorld. Izzy, can you get in contact with Joe and Matt and tell them to meet us in the park later this evening? I'm going to contact Sora and tell her about the meeting I'm asking the gang to attend," Tai turned to TK and Kari, "I want you both there also."

"What's this meeting all about?" Kari asked.

"About what's happening in the DigiWorld and the new DigiDestined that were chosen to defend against the new threat," Tai explained, "But my main concern is Davis."

"Why is that?" Izzy inquired.

"Though we explained earlier how the Digimon Emperor sent three enslaved Monochromon to attack," Tai clarified, "Davis was the prime target," Tai looked at Kari, TK and Izzy with a serious look, "The Digimon Emperor wants to get rid of him."

Kari, TK and Izzy held expressions of worry knowing that Davis is on the Digimon Emperor's top priority list of targets to terminate.

* * *

(Meanwhile In Tamachi)

At the Ichijouji residence, Ken was back in his room with the lights off sitting in front of his laptop. He quietly sat there planning on how to defeat Davis next time. In doing so, he was going over the list of all the Champion level Digimon he had at his disposal.

"You won't be my undoing Davis," Ken said to himself, "I will find a way to bring about your downfall."

* * *

 **As Ken contemplates his new plans, Davis is busy prepping his team for what to expect. Will they prove ready this time around? And seeing how many things have changed for Davis and Veemon, they realized that not everything will happen in the exact way they happened before with Ken's attacks becoming more fierce. Find out what new developments happen next time.**


	4. Chapter Four: Let The Hunt Begin Part 1

**Chapter Four: Let The Hunt Begin (Part 1)**

* * *

 **A/N: I apologize for my long delay. My laptop crashed and all of my new chapters for Sealed Legacy and Neo Yondaime Hokage were completely lost to the hard drive that failed on me. I'm currently in the process of having to rewrite all of my new chapters to those fanfics so please be patient and bear with me.**

* * *

(Later That Afternoon; At The Motomiya Residence)

Yolei and Cody were sitting inside Davis' room. Cody was sitting on the carpeted floor while Yolei was sitting by Davis' desk. Both guests found the room nicely cleaned and well organized. Yolei took notice of the violin case sitting by Davis' desk.

"I wasn't aware that Davis was into playing the violin," Yolei commented while looking over at the violin case.

"I guess it's not something he likes to brag about," Cody speculated, "He probably just recently got into it and is still practicing."

"I'm sure he doesn't sound all that bad," Yolei said while turning back to the young boy, "And trust me I've heard from ones that would make your ears cry. I wonder when and what got Davis into the violin."

"You can always ask him Yolei," Cody suggested, "It couldn't hurt to inquire of his interests."

A moment later, Davis entered the room with some hot herbal tea he prepared for them.

"Here you go," Davis said as he handed them each a cup of tea, "Sorry, but this is the best I can do on short notice."

"There's no need to apologize Davis," Yolei assured with a bright smile, "We appreciate you having us over even if it's just simple tea you have to offer."

"It's the spirit of hospitality that's important," Cody remarked as he accepted the tea from Davis.

"Thanks," Davis said before placing the tray down on top of his desk and going over to his bed and sitting on it, "Well, you both were chosen by the DigiWorld to be their new guardians. While I know playing the role of being protectors is something adults normally do, the Digital World isn't a place fit for most grown-ups though there's always a small exception."

"Who would count as a small exception?" Yolei asked.

"There's a man named Gennai who has helped Tai and the others in the past in defending the Digital and the Real World," Davis said, "He actually lives in the Digital World though he hasn't been seen for quite some time now as he's always busy with important work helping the Digimon and doing his own exploration of the Digital World."

"Weren't you scared when you went to the Digital World by yourself for the first time when you were eight years old?" Cody asked curiously.

"Not really," Davis truthfully, "When I first arrived I landed in this grassland that didn't have anything for me to be afraid of. Also I had my friend Veemon and many strong allies with me. They needed my help as much as I needed their support and confidence in me as I led them in our battle against Millenniummon and his army. If I was weak hearted, things would have ended in disaster and chances are, we might have all been killed. Although I will admit that Millenniummon was quite a frightening Digimon to fight against all things considered."

"That's something that can heavily traumatize an eight-year-old child," Yolei commented.

"Kari and TK were also eight years old when they first went to the Digital World," Davis pointed out, "But unlike me, they had their older siblings and older friends with them to help watch over them. They didn't have the responsibility of having to and needing to lead an army of Digimon."

"No, only an academic genius could handle that load on his own," Yolei remarked.

"While it is true that they didn't have to lead an army like I had to," Davis stated, "Neither of you should underestimate or undermine what TK and Kari had to go through when they were eight years old. Like me, they had powerful enemies that wanted to kill them, their siblings and their friends. One Digimon in particular called Myotismon wanted to kill Kari because he considered her a threat to him because of the crest she holds, this being the crest of Light."

"So Kari was the eighth child you were talking about earlier in the computer room," Yolei realized.

"Exactly," Davis confirmed.

"I'm taking it that us being chosen to become DigiDestined will earn us many dangerous enemies," Cody said.

"Though that is true," Davis replied, "You'll also make allies and trust me, I have many allies who believe in me and would stake their lives for me. And as team leader, I would stake my life for the team."

"You'd go that far to protect us?" Yolei asked with a captivated expression.

"As leader, the safety of the team is important and a good leader makes sure his platoon is in good order and ready to act," Davis said, "But as leader there will be times that I'll have to make very difficult decisions that you guys won't agree with me on. You might even argue with me about those hard decisions that have to be made believing me to be in the wrong."

"As smart as you are, I find it hard to imagine me arguing with you and wrongly accusing you," Yolei remarked.

 _'You wouldn't be saying that if you remembered what you were like the first time we were on the same team,'_ Davis privately thought, _'And back then, you never thought I was smart,'_ Davis then reasoned, "Like it or not, disagreements will happen amongst us. It's to be expected since we all have our own different opinions and beliefs about things.

"However, what I do expect from you guys is your full support in whatever decisions I make, especially if it's a task I know that must be done for everyone's benefits or the benefit of that one person. That doesn't mean though that I won't take into consideration your opinions and feelings about certain matters or situations as there might be occasions when you guys may know or understand something that either I don't know or overlooked."

"That sounds fair and reasonable," Cody agreed and smiled, "I see no grounds to disagree with you on. I'll do my best to support you as a member of your team."

"Likewise! Same here!" Yolei chimed in full agreement.

"That's great!" Davis said, "I'll be counting on both of you. But like I said before, the Digital World is filled with amazing features and Digimon. But it's also filled with dangerous Digimon and areas."

"Will we be getting a Digimon partner like you Davis?" Yolei asked before she started looking around, "And speaking of Digimon partners, where's that cute one of yours I saw earlier? I believe his name was DemiVeemon."

"He chose to remain in the Digital World for this evening," Davis said, "And as for Digimon partners, you both will be getting partners of your own in time," Davis assured, "That you can count on."

"That's so cool!" Yolei cheered happily.

"I wonder what kind of partner I'll get," Cody said.

"We're all given Digimon partners based on our traits, characteristics and personalities," Davis enlightened, "They won't be just your partners but also your close friends and allies that'll be influenced by your very traits and character."

"Well I hope me and my future partner always have each other's backs when it's most needed," Cody remarked before looking at his watch, and the panicked, "Oh no! I overstayed and I'm going to be late for my kendo practice!"

Cody drank the last of his tea and set it down on the tray sitting on Davis' desk. Cody bowed and said, "Thanks for the hospitality and your insight. But I have to head home now."

"I understand and sorry for keeping you here too long," Davis said before turning to Yolei, "Don't you have to leave with Cody also?"

"I don't have kendo sessions with Cody," Yolei joked, "Besides I still have more time to hang around if that's alright with you."

"I have no issues with that if that's what you want," Davis shrugged as Cody made his way out of Davis' room and to the main entrance wear everyone's sneakers were. He placed his on as Davis walked over to him.

"Get home safely," Davis said, "I'll meet you in school tomorrow."

"Alright. I'll see you and Yolei tomorrow," Cody said before opening the door and exiting through it. Davis closed and locked the door and then returned back to his room where Yolei was waiting. Seeing him, Yolei said, "Hey, Davis, I couldn't help but notice that you have a violin case by your desk."

Davis looked and saw that he left his violin case out in the opening by his desk.

 _'Damn it!'_ Davis cursed to himself, _'I forgot I left that out!'_

"I never knew you had a thing for playing the violin Davis," Yolei said.

"It's a personal therapy and hobby of mine beside playing chess," Davis said, "I practice here and there."

"Your personal therapy?" Yolei asked quizzically.

"It's one of my ways to relieving stress and coping with my past in the Digital World as I honor the memories of my friends long gone," Davis explained, "I also play it when I'm in the need to liven up my mood on occasions."

Yolei went and retrieved the violin case and asked, "Mind if I hear how you sound like?"

"Are you sure?" Davis asked trying to dissuade her, "I'm not like those master violinists I watch on TV. I might crack your glasses if not your eardrums you know."

"Yeah right," Yolei replied unconvinced, "If I know anything about you Davis is that you always work hard to improve and get better than you already are. All I'm asking is to hear a sample of what you can do so far, nothing major."

Davis saw that pleading look on her face and relented, "Alright. I'll play one of my renditions. But I'm not paying for your medical bills if your eardrums burst."

"Even if you do sound really bad Davis," Yolei encouraged, "I'll at least give you moral support to continue practicing and not give up," Yolei smiled sincerely, "It's the least I can do if you become my study partner."

 _'Yolei is really making an effort to appeal to me and I know Kari is going to be pissed by this…oh well, that's life,'_ Davis thought before he went over and retrieved his violin case from Yolei. Setting in down on his bed, he opened the case to reveal his polished violin and bow. Yolei for her part sat down on the chair and got ready to hear Davis play his instrument. She actually expected him to play as bad as he said he was, but as she promised, she would give him moral support.

Davis placed the violin over his left shoulder with his left hand holding the head of the violin with his left fingers positioned over the strings. With his bow in his right hand, Davis took a breath and began to visualize a peaceful scenery in his mind. With his desired thoughts in mind, Davis glided his bow across the strings of the violin and started playing his solo. What Yolei heard was anything but what Davis said was bad performance on his part. The music coming from his playing the violin sounded very serene and calming as it filled the room with wordless poetry. It was as if she could have a really bad day and come home to listen to a poetic recital to put her troubled mind at ease.

 _'I should have known that Davis was fooling around when he was making it sound like he was a horrid rookie!'_ Yolei thought while listening to Davis' violin solo, _'He plays like those violinists at an orchestra!'_

For another five minutes, Davis continued playing his violin before concluding his solo. When he was done, Yolei smiled and applauded his performance.

"That was beautiful Davis!" Yolei praised while clapping, "You sounded terrific! I can't believe you tried to trick me into believing that you suck! How long have you been playing the violin?"

 _'Since I started college years ago with expert violinists teaching and strengthening my skills and I've been growing stronger in my skills through the years since,'_ Davis thought, but said, "My father bought me a violin three and a half years ago after I asked him to buy it for me. He told me that he would buy me one if he saw improvements in my grades since in first and second grade, my school grades weren't the most appealing."

"You mean to say that you weren't a genius all your life and that worked hard through the years to become one just so you can become a violinist?" Yolei asked in disbelief and then praised with stars in her eyes, "You are so cool Davis!"

"Thanks but no one at school or even Kari know I play the violin," Davis revealed, "It's always been my personal thing."

 _'Davis openly shared something personal about himself with me that even Kari doesn't know about,'_ Yolei thought excitedly.

"You're such a charismatic charmer Davis," a feminine voice remarked from outside Davis' bedroom door. Davis and Yolei turned to see Jun and Chizuru Inoue grinning and standing together at the door in their high school uniforms.

"How long were you two there?" Davis asked nonchalantly.

"Long enough to see you serenade my little sister," Chizuru teased and giggled, causing Yolei to blush hotly since that wasn't what she originally was thinking about, "You have an amazing talent for the violin Davis."

"Chizuru!" Yolei asked as she stood up off Davis' seat after getting her voice back, "What are you doing here?"

"Hanging with my best friend Jun," Chizuru said, "We're in the same class and go to school together."

"You two know each like that?" Yolei asked with a surprised expression.

"We knew each other for quite a few years now Yolei," Chizuru remarked, "And Davis has met and talked with me a number of times."

Yolei turned to Davis and said, "You never told me you and my older sister know each other!"

"It's a small world after all," Davis sang comically.

"Don't you have jokes," Yolei snorted.

"Anyway," Jun cut in, "Chizuru and I will be in the living room studying and doing our homework together."

"So we'll leave you two alone now," Chizuru said, "And let you guys enjoy your study date together."

"Chizuru!" Yolei shouted and blushed. Jun and Chizuru giggled before closing the door to Davis' room. Yolei sighed and turned back to Davis, "Sorry about that. My big sister loves to tease and annoy the hell out of me to no end."

"I have an older sister too, so I can relate," Davis replied.

"But since we still have time," Yolei suggested brightly, "We can do our homework and study together just like our older siblings in the living room."

"I see no problem with that," Davis agreed. Yolei smiled as she got her stuff organized to start working.

 _'Kari tried to be a hindrance to me in every way today,'_ Yolei thought happily, _'But my luck held out for me and in the end Davis became my study partner!'_

As Davis was doing likewise in organizing his school homework, his mind drifted off into his own world as he replayed everything that happened in the Digital World and how more vicious Ken's attack on them was than the first time. He knew that things wouldn't get any easier if what happened earlier today was any proof to that. But still he couldn't help but worry over one certain topic: if his actions changed the way the first battle went then what's going to happen in all the future battles that await them and how much worse will they be compared to what he remembered.

As Yolei was preparing her things, her mobile phone chimed a bell indicating that she received a text message. She took out her phone and read the message.

"Eeehh!?" Yolei squealed as the same blush on her face from before came back when she saw what her older sister sent her. Davis turned to her and asked, "Are you alright Yolei?"

"I'm fine! I'm fine!" Yolei quickly assured with a nervous laugh. Davis looked at her questionably and implored, "Are you sure? Because your face is all red."

"It's nothing really," Yolei said while trying to hide her nervousness, "It's just as I said before about my older sister doing things to get to me."

"Oh?" Davis replied, "In that case, I'll have to assume that whatever it was she sent you must be something between you two that I'm sure you don't want to talk about."

"You can say that," Yolei agreed.

"Whatever," Davis remarked with a shrug before going back to what he was doing. Yolei sighed in relief before looking back at what Chizuru sent her: it was a picture of Davis playing his violin for her as she was listening happily while sitting by his desk. A few seconds later, Yolei received a typed text message from her sister with a smiley face placed next to it that read: _'Something for you to always remember the moment.' (^_^)_

"Chizuru you sly rascal!" Yolei whispered as she sent her sister a "thank you" text for taking the picture discreetly. Yolei then saved and set the picture up as her wallpaper on her mobile phone screen.

* * *

(Meanwhile)

Tai, Kari, TK, Izzy, Sora and Joe were all assembled together at the park. Mimi was able to be present via Skipe that Izzy set up. Though the time zone between New York City and Tokyo Japan was different by 13 hours, Mimi made the effort to be there after the learning from Izzy of a new crisis that threatened the Digital World. Matt had yet to arrive as everyone was now waiting for him.

"Izzy," Tai asked, "Did you make sure to give Matt the message to come?

"He was the first one I called before getting in contact with Joe and Mimi," Izzy explained, "Knowing Matt, he's probably still in band practice."

"I hope he shows up soon so this meeting can get underway," Tai said.

"Hey guys," Matt greeted from a distance, "Sorry I'm late. I got held up practicing for our upcoming concert."

Matt walked in and sat next to his younger brother. Tai went over to stood next to Sora and said, "It's good know that everyone is here now."

"I have to say that it's been a while since we all were together like this," Joe commented.

"Well unfortunately I can't be there in the same sense as you guys are,"' Mimi remarked through her computer screen.

"Well Tai, everyone's here and accounted for," Matt stated, "So what's this meeting all about?"

"How much do you guys know about Davis?" Tai started off. Everyone except for Kari, TK and Izzy looked at Tai oddly.

"Why do you ask?" Sora inquired, "Both you and I along with Kari knew Davis for a few years."

"While that's true," Tai replied, "There's actually a lot more to our longtime friend than that."

"Aside the fact that he's the renowned school prodigy, chess grandmaster and soccer team captain," Matt remarked offhandedly, "Seriously Tai what's this meeting all about?"

"Are you guys aware that Davis has been a DigiDestined for almost as long as we have and that our Digimon owe their lives to him after he saved the Digital World from total collapse?" Tai asked, which now got Matt's, Joe's, Sora's and Mimi's attention.

"Say what?!" Sora asked in disbelief, "How is that even possible!?"

"It's a long story and whatever parts I missed, Kari and TK will fill in the blanks," Tai replied before he went into a detailed recount explaining everything that happened. Kari and TK spoke in when it was necessary to give their sides of the explanation. The rest of the group listened carefully while finding what they were hearing hard to believe.

"You seriously expect us to believe that Davis is this legendary Golden Child who holds the crest that's the source of where all of our crests originated?" Matt asked skeptically.

"The Digimon themselves hailed Davis as the Golden Child and their savior Matt," TK confirmed, "Kari and I can vouch for that as we saw and heard them clearly identified Davis by his name and title. And to be honest, I always thought Kari's crest of Light was the highest source of power against the forces of darkness. I never thought there was another crest out there that was actually stronger."

"It isn't so farfetched if you think about it," Izzy chided in with his signature thinking posture, "Everything has to originate from a source and that includes the crests we had, so maybe this crest of miracles really is where ours came from. It certainly sounds like a possibility since miracles seem like a higher force than what our crests represented."

"There still many things about the crest of Miracles that we don't know since Davis himself said he doesn't know its origins," Tai spoke in, "But let's continue explaining what happened."

Tai, Kari and TK went to continue relating everything they learned and found and all they saw Davis and Veemon do. TK and Kari saw how Tai left out the part that involved the little skirmish between him and Davis, a near physical altercation Tai himself started.

"That's way too much for an eight-year-old child to shoulder on his own," Mimi said sympathetically through her Skype connection, "I wouldn't have been able to bear it if I were in Davis' position."

"I can't believe that Davis never told us that he experienced and went through such tremendous ordeals by himself at that age," Sora remarked.

"You never told Davis any of your experiences as a DigiDestined either Sora," Tai commented, "But neither did Kari nor myself for that matter."

"But he knew that all of us are DigiDestined for years Tai!" Sora countered, "It's no excuse! He could have confided in us about what happened and what he had to go through. He didn't have to carry this burden on his own. We could have understood and related to him."

"No Sora we couldn't," Tai disagreed as he shook his head sympathetically, "We didn't have to lead an army on our own and lose many Digimon friends and allies who were permanently killed by a vicious monster and can never be reborn ever again. None of us know what that kind of pain and sorrow is like."

Everyone in the group sighed lowly upon thinking about the heaviness of that burden Davis had to live with.

"That's so awful," Mimi said as she wiped her eyes, "I can only imagine how traumatic that might have been for him."

"He hid it so well from me for all these years as he kept coming to school like nothing happened," Kari said with her head lowered, "And even if he did tell me, I honestly don't think I would have been in any position to help him now that I think about it."

"I lost Patamon once when I was 8 years old when he first digivolved to Angemon and the stopped Devimon," TK said, "But I was fortunate to have Patamon reborn as a digi-egg that same day. I can't imagine how I would have been affected if Patamon was permanently deleted with no chance of ever coming back."

"It makes me wonder if Davis suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder as a result," Joe remarked.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Kari asked with a tone that revealed that didn't like the sound of the medical terminology Joe was using in reference to her friend.

"Think about it," Joe replied and then explained, "Davis was forced to learn to handle himself and save all of the Digimon and the Digital World without any help from us or any other known DigiDestined. Since then, he's been doing secret explorations and investigations of the Digital World on his own without any of us knowing about it for the last few years. And like your brother said earlier Kari, Davis made it very clear to TK, you and Tai that he could take care of himself. Perhaps his lone trials, battles and experiences in the Digital World triggered his post traumatic stress dis-"

"Seriously Joe," Kari interrupted abruptly with a clear frown on her face, "I really hate that terminology you're using on Davis! You make it sound like he's mentally handicapped! Who here among us wasn't affected by the trials and hardships we had in the Digital World?"

"I'm not saying that we ourselves weren't affected by our time there Kari," Joe said in his defense with his hands raised in front of him, "But like Tai brought out, Davis' experiences in the Digital World had a far heavier degree than our own since he was alone and he fought someone who was worse than Apocalymon. I wouldn't have been able to handle even close to a quarter of the things he did and went through at the age of eight, let alone cope with it."

"Are you a doctor or a psychiatrist in training?" Kari remarked a bit cynically.

"Kari that's enough!" Tai interjected seeing how upset Kari was becoming, "I'm sure Joe isn't trying to antagonize or question Davis' mental stability in any way."

"He is if he's insinuating that Davis has some kind of mental disorder from mental trauma!" Kari argued, "I don't recall hearing disorders of any sort being good things to have!"

"Post traumatic stress disorder is a change in one's personality that makes him or her paranoid, less happy, aggressive among other things," Joe clarified, "But in Davis' case, it forced him to mentally grow and mature a lot faster than most normal youths his age. It's not like having a trauma which causes someone to develop a strong, deep seeded mental hatred or fear of something. Davis wasn't traumatized by what he went through in the Digital World and he's not mentally handicapped. Otherwise he wouldn't have been willing to go back to the Digital World either out of fear or hatred for it nor would he have gotten the digi-egg of Courage.

"I'm sorry that the way I start off explaining my theory about Davis' change in personality led to some misunderstandings."

Feeling guilty for her own actions, Kari apologized, "I'm sorry for wrongly accusing you of trying to make Davis out as a mental case. But if what you say is true, then how do you suppose Davis coped with his personality change?"

"I wouldn't be able to answer that question for you," Joe confessed, "Each person deals with it in their own ways."

"If you really want to know Kari," Sora suggested, "Then perhaps you can talk to Davis and ask him how he was able to work through whatever effects being in the Digital World had on him. I'm sure no harm could come from that right?"

Kari turned to look at Sora who gave her a sisterly expression of assurance that she was only trying to help as best as she could.

"I'm sure there must have been times you really wanted to confide in Davis about your experiences in the Digital World before and after Tai and I forbade you from doing so," Sora said, "So after this meetings, you can disregard our restriction and feel free to talk to Davis about how your experiences affected you and see how he was able to cope with his ordeals since he always kept them to himself."

"Thanks Sora," Kari replied appreciatively. Sora smiled and nodded her head. The older girl knew how much Davis meant to Kari and she was aware how much Kari hated when Davis was spoken about in a bad light.

"Still," Tai spoke up, "We can't ignore the fact that Davis is a target by this new threat to the DigiWorld. TK, Kari and I saw earlier today that the Digimon Emperor sent three Monochromon out to kill him. One is bad enough with our Digimon being unable to digivolve and fight back; but to send out three is emphasizing how badly the Digimon Emperor sees Davis as a threat to him."

"Considering how much Davis has accomplished it's not hard to see why," Matt commented.

"I'm interested in what Davis' partner Veemon experienced after absorbing and assimilating Cyberdramon's data into himself," Izzy spoke up, "I never heard of a Digimon assimilating another Digimon."

"Veemon also mentioned that after absorbing Cyberdramon's data he was able to digivolve all the way to Ultimate," TK spoke in, "I wonder if there are more Digimon out there that have the capacity to absorb other Digimon's data."

"I highly doubt that there are, otherwise we'd have seen it for ourselves already," Izzy said and pointed out, "Davis made it clear that it's nothing like DNA digivolving and that it's irreversible. If assimilating Digimon is unique only to Veemon, imagine how you'd feel if he were to absorb Angemon's data or any of our Digimon's data."

"That's not funny Izzy!" Mimi remarked through the laptop, "I wouldn't be able to bear it if I lost Palmon forever through data deletion or assimilation!"

"It wasn't aimed as a joke," Izzy said, "I'm just saying how there's a whole lot about Davis' partner that we don't know considering that he's an ancient Digimon whose past is shrouded in many speculations. I've never seen any dying Digimon ask another Digimon to absorb their data unless Cyberdramon knew that Veemon had that ability as he chose that option over permanent deletion."

"While it's true that Veemon can absorb other Digimon," Kari said, "We don't have to worry about him absorbing any of our partners and I know Davis and Veemon wouldn't want to anyway. What I'm concerned with is this new threat in the form of the Digimon Emperor who seeks to conquer and take over the DigiWorld."

"Davis mentioned earlier that he has an idea who the Digimon Emperor might be," TK brought up, which got the older group's attention.

"He does?" Matt asked.

"Did he say who?" Tai probed.

"He gave us no name," TK answered, "He said that he needs more time to fully investigate before making any conclusions or speculations."

"I guess he doesn't want to jump to any wrong conclusions without first knowing and having all of the facts," Joe commented, "Smart idea."

"Who would have thought that our new enemy and threat to the DigiWorld could be another DigiDestined," Izzy stated, causing everyone to look at him as if he lost his mind.

"Why the hell would you even consider such a messed up idea like that Izzy?!" Tai asked with a raised voice.

"Evil viral Digimon like the Dark Masters, I can understand!" Joe remarked, "But a DigiDestined becoming corrupt and going against the Digital World and against us? That is so wrong!"

"We DigiDestined were chosen to protect the Digital World not to conquer and enslave it with all of its inhabitants!" Matt stated firmly.

"That very thought of doing such a thing violates why we were chosen to become DigiDestined in the first place!" Tai added.

"Don't you guys think I understand that!?" Izzy retorted.

"Then why would you suggest such a horrible idea of another DigiDestined betraying his purpose to protect the Digital World?!" Sora asked heatedly.

"Because Davis never said whether or not the Digimon Emperor was another Digimon!" Izzy pointed out, "As much as I hate this but we have to consider the possible idea that a DigiDestined might have turned evil and turned on the Digital World!"

"If that's the possible case," Kari realized with a horrified expression, "Then that would mean there's someone in the Real World who wants to kill Davis! Someone within our own age group! I can't believe this!"

"A DigiDestined who wants to murder another DigiDestined?" Mimi asked while feeling sickened by the thought, "What an awful thing to want to do!"

"Davis knows that there's someone out there that wants to kill him yet he remained so calm about it!" TK remarked while feeling both troubled and angered by the thought, "It sickens me that a DigiDestined would allow himself to become corrupted by the forces of darkness to the point that he'd stoop to wanting to commit murder to get his way!"

"Guys calm down!" Izzy said, "I only said that it's a possibility not a solid fact! And you're all forgetting that Davis has been doing well on his own without any of our help and he himself said he faced and made it through eviler dangers!"

"Is that supposed to make things any better Izzy?!" Kari argued. Izzy turned and looked directly at Kari and replied, "You of all people ought to understand Davis' situation better than any of us Kari, especially since you regard Davis as your dearest and closest friend."

On hearing Izzy's words, Kari clenched her fists tightly as they slightly shook while feeling her blood boil. With deceptive calmness Kari asked, "Are you accusing me of not caring or seeing the danger Davis is in?"

"No," Izzy stated flatly, "I'm reminding you that you yourself were targeted by Myotismon and his army and he wanted you dead because you were seen as threat to him! And I remember hearing from Matt and Sora how brave and selfless you were in confronting Myotismon directly face to face to protect and save Matt and Sora when their Digimon partners were outmatched by Myotismon's minions and you were only eight years old at the time.

"Davis did the exact same thing like you in selflessly risking his life to protect you, TK and Tai knowing he was prime target to be killed because he's considered a threat. That's why I'm saying that unlike the rest of us you're in a better position to empathize and relate to Davis on those grounds."

Kari was left speechless by Izzy's logic as her mind processed what he explained to her. In fact, everyone was left speechless by Izzy's words and how he put into perspective that Kari would be in a better position in relate to Davis on more grounds than the rest of the older group.

"Tai?" Sora asked, "You and the others mentioned that there are two new DigiDestined from Kari's school, right?"

"That's right," Tai confirmed, "They're Yolei Inoue and Cody Hida."

"Davis' two friends?" Sora asked, "I didn't expect that to happen."

"Nor did I to be honest," TK remarked, "Yolei and Cody both live in the same building I live in."

"Why weren't they brought here so we could better explain what would be expected of them in the Digital World and what to expect when they actually go there for the first time?" Mimi asked.

"Davis chose to do the job himself after…Yolei suggested it," Kari said with a hint of annoyance at the latter part of her statement.

"Besides I already proclaimed and appointed Davis as the leader so who better than me to explain the facts to those two?" Tai stated.

"So you chose Davis as the new team leader and your successor now?" Matt asked.

"He's already a leader Matt, long before today," Tai replied, "It only makes sense to choose someone who's already experienced in shouldering that responsibility. And I saw for myself firsthand what Davis is capable of doing in dangerous situations and how he can handle himself alone against Digimon. And he's proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that he'll stake and put his life on the line for the safety and survival of the team without hesitation. So if you can nominate a better candidate for the role of leader, then I'd like to hear it now."

"Point taken," Matt conceded.

"So what now?" Mimi asked. Izzy suggested, "I suppose one of us can take Yolei and Cody to the Digital World and-"

Izzy was cut off when Kari's mobile phone started chiming. She took it out and look to see who was calling her.

"It's Davis," Kari said before answering the phone, "Hey Davis, what's up?…No I have a few minutes to spare. What do you need to tell me?…You don't want what?…Why?…"

The rest of the group were quiet while they were waiting for Kari's conversation with Davis to finish.

"…Really?…," Kari continued talking on her mobile phone, "But Davis we…No, no! I'm not disagreeing with you! It's just that…Oh…I see…You got a point there…I'll be sure to tell the others that…Yes…Yes, I trust you Davis. I have no reasons not to…I'll see you tomorrow morning. Same time like before. Bye bye…"

Kari then hung up her mobile phone and turned to the others.

"What did Davis want?" Tai asked.

Kari turned to the others and answered, "He said he doesn't want Yolei and Cody going to the Digital World at this time."

The group was taken aback by that.

"What?" TK asked, "Why?"

"He explained that it's not time for them go just yet and that there's something he wants to check out first before they go," Kari explained, "Also Davis told me that he already instructed both Yolei and Cody not to go the DigiWorld until he gets back with them about it. He further added that he doesn't want to hear that we went behind his back and took Cody and Yolei to the Digital World anyway."

"Is he serious?" TK asked.

"He is the leader of the group, TK," Kari reminded, "You're not going to start undermining and questioning that now are you? And I know Davis wouldn't do something without good reasons behind it and he also reminded me that our Digimon can't digivolve. Gatomon may be a Champion level Digimon but even a stronger Champion Digimon can take her out as we saw today."

TK was quiet and didn't give a reply.

"Let's trust Davis' judgment in not having Yolei and Cody taken to the Digital World at this time," Tai advised, "Besides Davis is right when you think about the current situation with our Digimon being unable to digivolve."

"I wonder what it could be that Davis wants to look into first," Izzy said, "It must be something important if he was that serious about not having Yolei and Cody taken to the Digital World even in our company."

"I'm sure he has the new group's best interest in heart so let's wait on him until he tells us what he's looking into," Kari advised, "I trust him. Do the rest of you do?"

Everyone in the group nodded their heads in agreement.

"Well it's been a long day for everyone," Tai said and then turned to the laptop, "And I know you have to get yourself ready for school in New York soon right Mimi?"

"I do," Mimi confirmed through the laptop, "I'll have to hurry if I'm to make it to class on time."

"Then we'll conclude this meeting until another time and be on our way home," Tai stated before the others nodded their heads and stood up.

"See'ya later and keep me posted on any new developments," Mimi said before disconnecting her Skype connection. Izzy took that opportunity to close his laptop and put it back into this backpack. Tai turned and saw Sora heading on her way home by herself. As he did, Davis' words came back to him:

 _"_ … _either that's because the digi-egg thinks I'm more courageous than you or because it senses that you lack courage where you need it most…Sora is still waiting for you. But your lack of courage and fears are causing you to waste and lose time and it will cost you dearly!"_

Sora was walking farther away from him with each step she took.

 _"Is fear of rejection holding you back or is it the fear of what will happen to your friendship that keeps you silent?"_

That was when Tai caught sight of Matt making his way over to Sora as she kept walking away from the park. Though Tai didn't know that Matt was going to ask Sora if she wanted to come to his upcoming concert and later hang with him after that, seeing Matt's way of walking was enough for Tai to speculate what Matt's intentions were.

 _"You have nothing to lose except the one you want if you let someone else beat you to the punch because of your constant procrastination, self-doubts and fears!"_

That last part was all Tai needed to remember when he took the initiative and ran over to Sora fast.

"Hey Sora, wait up!" Tai called out, getting the teen girl's attention just before Matt did.

"Yeah Tai, what's up?" Sora asked curiously as Tai reached her and caught his breath briefly.

"Since it's late," Tai offered, "I was wondering if I could escort you home and make sure you get there safely. I'll buy you a treat along the way too. So how about it?"

"Sure!" Sora accepted with a smile, "I'd love that!"

Tai gestured with his head to come along with him. Sora followed Tai as they started heading out together with Kari following close by behind them. But neither of the two girls saw the discreet glare Tai gave Matt that clearly said "Back off!" Matt gave a raised eyebrow at the look but backed off when he saw that he didn't get his chance to speak with Sora as Tai knowingly cock-blocked him.

"Hey Matt?" TK called out, "Everyone's leaving. Why are you just standing around?"

Matt snapped out of thoughts and turned to his younger brother.

"Uh…sorry about that," Matt apologized, "I kind of spaced out for a moment."

"Something on your mind?" TK asked.

"It's nothing you have to worry about," Matt said as he went and grabbed his belongings, "Well I better get home before dad throws a fit at me for staying out late again I'll see'ya!"

Matt left the scene before TK shrugged and started on his way back one also. Joe and Izzy went in different directions to their homes.

Meanwhile, Tai was walking with Sora next to him as they were first heading to where the pastry parlor was. During the quiet and peaceful walk, Tai took a moment to think about the prep talk Davis gave him earlier. For Tai, it was a rather humbling experience that someone younger than him had to talk some sense into him and get him to wake up to the reality in front of him.

 _'I have to remember to thank Davis for straightening me out,'_ Tai thought before he turned to look at Sora. As he saw the moonlight reflect off her eyes, he came to appreciate how femininely mature and attractive Sora was becoming from the tomboyish girl he had always known her for.

 _'Sora really became very beautiful,'_ Tai thought to himself before Sora's eyes turned to face Tai as she caught him staring at her.

"Is something the matter Tai?" Sora asked. Tai quickly looked away with a blush on his cheeks.

"Oh uh, nothing," Tai stuttered, "Sorry about that."

"It's alright Tai," Sora assured, with a blush of her own on her face, "I'm not upset or anything. But why were you staring at me so intently like that?"

Tai gulped quietly seeing how Sora put him on the spot. He thought about making up some lame excuse but decided against it as he realized that this was his moment to say something to put him in good grace with his longtime friend.

"I was just admiring your hair, that's all," Tai said, before mentally kicking himself for saying something he thought was so lame, _'Of all the dumb things I could have said I-'_

"My hair?" Sora asked shyly with the blush still on her face, "You…You were admiring it?" Sora smiled, "I never knew you appreciated that part of me."

Tai looked at Sora and looked for something to say along those lines until he saw a certain ornament she was wear on her head, "Well yeah, and I couldn't help but notice that you still wear that same hairclip I gave you."

Sora unconscious reached out and touched the hairclip that was in her hair.

"To be honest," Sora said, "I didn't cherish it at first, especially after that embarrassing incident that happened when you threw up in my hat by accident," Sora laughed and related, "I remember being so angry at you after I placed my hat back on my head without knowing what happened."

"Yeah," Tai smiled nervously, "…That was one of my least favorite moments of my life that I hated myself for."

"Maybe," Sora said, "But then I learned how much effort you put into apologizing to me and trying to make me happy again while seeking my forgiveness. I always thought that was sweet and an act of a real gentleman of you."

"You did?" Tai asked with a surprise look on his face. Sora nodded her head and added, "Ever since then I always wore this hairclip as a reminder of that side of you."

 _'I never know Sora had always thought and felt that way about my simple hairclip present,'_ Tai thought appreciative, and knowing this now embolden Tai to ask his next question, "Sora?"

"Yeah Tai?" Sora implored.

"Are you planning on doing anything after school tomorrow?" Tai asked.

"Well," Sora started, "I was going to tennis practice with the tennis club tomorrow. We have a game that will be coming up in about a month. Why?"

Tai was about to back down seeing that Sora already had arrangements for tennis practice when an idea came to mind.

"You wouldn't mind if I sat in and watched you practice would you?" Tai asked, "You know, for morale support and to cheer you on."

"I'd like and appreciate that very much Tai," Sora said with a sincere smile.

"Really?" Tai asked.

"Tell you what," Sora offered, "Rather than just sitting on the sidelines watching me the whole afternoon, you can play me in a game or two while I show you how to play. If you're interested."

"Are you sure about that Sora?" Tai replied with a bit of uncertainty, "Soccer has always been my passion for a long time and I don't know a thing about tennis."

Sora's smile didn't falter as she said, "That may be true, but it couldn't hurt to try playing the sport once, could it?"

Tai carefully contemplated on how to reply before he answered. After a short moment Tai replied, "Well, since it's a sport you enjoy playing, I might as well check it out so long you're the only one that plays it with me."

"Great!" Sora agreed happily before telling him some aspects of the sport and what got her into it. Kari slowed her pace down, allowing the pair to walk a little further ahead of her as she took out her mobile phone and snapped a picture of the pair. She smiled brightly at how happy and confident looking her brother was as he walked side-by-side with Sora.

"Hey Tai?" Kari called out, causing Sora and Tai to turn to look back at her, "I'm going to head on home now so I can start on my homework. I'll see you when you get back."

Kari turned and started running off in the direction of her home.

"Text me when you get there!" Tai told his sister before hearing her say that she will.

"Looks like it's just the two of us now," Sora pointed out.

"Good, more treats to spoil you then," Tai remarked with a grin causing to Sora to giggle, "C'mon, let's go."

And with that the pair continued on their way to their destination. Meanwhile, Kari was texting Davis a message after sending him the picture of Tai and Sora walking together that she just took moments ago. Her message was:

 _'I guess in the end my brother didn't need you as his wingman. He just needed you to help him get his confidence back and to go after the girl he wants.'_

A few minutes later, Davis responded through a text message that said:

 _'I'm happy that Tai finally grew a pair of balls and went after Sora. (^_^)'_

"…Really Davis?" Kari sighed with a frown after seeing Davis' reply to her text, but he continued:

 _'He didn't really need me as his wingman. He just needed his courage and self-assurance that he could woo and win Sora's heart. I hope for the best and that everything turns out great for them. Keep me posted on any new developments between them. Goodnight Kari.'_

Kari gave him a goodnight text and continued on her way home.

* * *

(Two Days Later)

Kari, TK, Yolei, Cody, Izzy and Sora were in the computer room waiting for Davis' arrival. He had requested that they meet him in the computer room after school and now they were waiting on him to enter the room and start the meeting he scheduled.

In the meantime, TK was talking with Yolei and Cody as they were questioning him about his time in the Digital World with Izzy and Sora to adding their own input into the conversation about their own experiences.

As that was going on, Kari was by herself standing in front of the window looking out from it while in deep thought. She was thinking about her private conversation she had with Davis the other day while they were walking from school together.

* * *

(Flashback: Yesterday Afternoon)

Everyone was leaving school for the day and were either going home or going to after school clubs, be it academic or sports type. Kari was hurrying to meet up with Davis when…

"Hey Kari!"

Kari turned and looked behind her to see TK approaching her.

"Hey TK, what's up?" Kari asked.

"Not much," TK said, "They're having basketball try outs today and I was about to go check it out. And…"

"And what?" Kari asked. TK continued, "I was wondering if after that you'd like to meet up with me and check out this new pizza parlor that opened up."

"I'm sorry TK but I already made arrangements to meet up with Davis today after school," Kari said.

"Oh I see," TK replied while trying to hide his disappointment.

"But you can still tell me how things went with your tryouts," Kari encouraged, "I'd like to hear about it if that's not a problem."

"Sure," TK agreed, "That wouldn't be a problem at all."

"Thanks," Kari said, "Tell me about it in class tomorrow. OK?"

"Alright then," TK agreed before looking at his watch, "Well I got to head back to before I miss my chance to make the team. I'll see you tomorrow in class."

TK turned and hurried back to where tryouts were being held. After he left, Kari turned and hurried to where Davis was waiting for her. Upon her arrival, she found Davis waiting for her outside the main gate entrance of the school.

"You're late," Davis teased with false impatience.

"Sorry," Kari apologized, "TK wanted to ask me if I wanted to meet up with him after basketball tryouts."

"Is that right?" Davis asked.

"Yeah," Kari replied, "But I took a rain check telling him why I couldn't make it. And now that we're here, why don't we head out and be on our way now?"

"Let's go then," Davis agree before they started their walk together. The first few minutes were awkwardly silent as Kari was trying to think of something to say to get the conversation she wanted to have with him started.

"Is there something on your mind you want to talk about Kari?" Davis as after seeing the look on her face.

"How could you tell that?" Kari asked.

"I've been around you long enough to learn certain things about your character and to sense when you're troubled by something," Davis stated, "So share with me please, what's on your mind?"

Kari looked down on the ground, trying to find the right words to say. After a short moment she started off, "Davis…yesterday when you were talking about your time in the Digital World, you mentioned how you lost Digimon friends and allies who were permanently deleted and that you even faced situations that were far more dangerous than three Monochromon trying to kill you. What I've been wanting to ask you is, how were you able to cope with those ordeals? I know it must have been difficult not being able to share what happened to you with anyone…or with me for that matter."

Davis gave her a calm neutral expression as he looked away from her and straight ahead of him. For a moment Davis gave her no reply as Kari wondered how he would respond to her inquiry. The waiting felt like an eternity for Kari as Davis looked to be thinking about what to say. Soon the silence was broken by Davis' reply as he said, "As a leader, I take the safety and survival of my team and friends serious. During the war against Millenniummon, losing friends and allies greatly pained both me and Veemon, especially since I was the one leading them and losing those under my charge was hard to bear. Even though we knew the risk, it doesn't change the fact that all good leaders want to see their friends and those who trust and rely on their leadership come back alive and safe.

"After Millenniummon's first defeat, I stayed in the Digital World with Veemon and Cyberdramon for a few weeks. I guess you can say it was my vacation for recuperating and dealing from the mental and emotional stress of battling Millenniummon. I also took the time to mourn those who bravely fought by my side and died in battle. I honestly had an emotional breakdown as I acknowledged that those who Millenniummon personally deleted would never be reborn ever again. But as tragic as it was, I never thought that their irreversible deaths were for nothing as I realized that they heroically sacrificed themselves to save and protect the Digital World and all those they saw as friends.

"The remaining army of Digimon with us believed in me and Veemon so much that they were willing to sacrifice and give all of their power to Magnamon knowing that they would die and would have to be reborn in the future. From that point on, I made it my aim to cope by honoring their sacrifices and working harder to become a better, smarter and stronger leader. Playing chess is one of my ways of coping as it helps strengthen my strategic planning and thinking abilities which leaders must always have."

Kari took in everything Davis was telling her. After giving some time thinking about what Davis said, Kari remarked, "You speak like an experienced war veteran who's seen a lifetime of trials and hardships while successfully working through all of them and bettering yourself to be a stronger and maturer man."

"Thanks," Davis replied with a grin, "I'll take that as a compliment. Am I to assume that your time in the Digital World made you more womanly?"

"Eh? Wo-womanly?" Kari stuttered with a bright blush on her face before answering modestly, "I wouldn't say it made me more womanly really."

"Then what?" Davis asked and stated, "I'm sure you must have done something courageous and extraordinary that normal eight-year-olds don't normally do. After all, Myotismon feared and hated you so much back then that he used an army of dark Champion and Ultimate level Digimon to hunt you down in all-out effort to kill you."

"I remember that incident," Kari said, "In one of those battles, Matt and Sora tried to protect me with their Digimon partners from this Digimon called Phantommon. But they were outmatched, and not wanting to see them or anyone else hurt or possibly killed, I surrendered and allowed myself to be taken to Myotismon so I could confront him face to face. When I did, he questioned me on why I gave myself up in spite the harm he would do to me. I told him that I didn't want to see any more people getting hurt and that someone had to stop him. I said that even though Gatomon was literally in Myotismon's grip and unable to break free from him."

"If you ask me I believe that extraordinary act you did was very courageous and womanly of you," Davis said, "Not a lot of young girls at that age would have had your strength and selflessness to face a monster like Myotismon, Kari. It's to be admired."

Kari found herself smiling and blushing at Davis' verbal praises and acknowledgement of her deeds. She was especially happy that Davis thought of her as being womanly.

"Thank you Davis," Kari said appreciatively, "I mean that."

"You're welcome Kari," Davis replied, "Kari! Kari!"

* * *

(End of Flashback; Present Time)

"Kari!" Davis called out, snapping Kari out of her train of thoughts and getting her to look back at him and the others.

"Ready to join the rest of the team now?" Davis asked and then teased, "Or did I interrupt a personal moment alone you were having?"

"Uh, sorry," Kari apologized as she stepped away from the window and over to the rest of the team.

"What were you thinking about so hard that send your mind so far away?" Sora asked.

"Just thoughts about the past and where it got me," Kari replied. Sora sensed that Kari was hiding something but decided not to probe her in front of everybody.

"I'm happy to see that all of you managed to make it," Davis said, "I apologize for my brief delay as I had to take care of a last minute errand. Anyway, I called this meeting because I have a task for all of you."

Everyone blink at hearing what Davis said.

"A task for us?" TK asked with a raised eyebrow.

"That's right," Davis confirmed, "It's a mission that I need you guys, along with Yolei and Cody, to carry out in the Digital World."

"You mean we get to go to the Digital World today?" Yolei asked with a level of anticipation and excitement.

"And you have a mission for us?" Cody inquired.

"Yes to both questions," Davis said, "And it's a very important mission I also need Kari and TK to be part of. And refusal to this mission is not an option. Seriously it's not!"

The group was taken a bit by surprise by Davis' calm but authoritative tone and mannerism.

"Why is that?" TK asked, with part of him not liking Davis' tone as leader.

"There are two locations Veemon and I found in the Digital World that I need you guys to travel to," Davis explained and he showed them printed colored pictures. The first one was of what looked like an ancient Mayan Temple and the second was the entrance to a cave.

"In both of these locations we found two artifacts that you guys must retrieve," Davis stated.

"Why didn't you get them yourself since you and Veemon found them?" TK asked.

"Because TK I can't!" Davis stated as he showed him and the rest of the group two pages having printed colored pictures of the four artifacts resting on stone alters. Kari and TK took a good look at the picture and realized…

Kari asked, "Are those-"

"They are," Davis confirmed, "As you can see the artifacts are digi-eggs and not just any digi-eggs but the digi-eggs of Love, Knowledge, Hope and Light," Davis looked at the "older" group and stated, "I want you Kari, TK, Izzy and Sora to go since the digi-eggs bear symbols engraved on them that correspond to your crests. I tried lifting them myself but couldn't so that's why I need you guys to try and retrieve them yourselves."

"That makes sense," Izzy agreed while listening carefully to Davis' words. The other "older" members of the group also agreed.

"I will need both you and Sora to take Yolei and Cody with you to the temple that holds the digi-eggs of Love and Knowledge, Izzy," Davis instructed.

"Why?" Sora asked.

"I first need you both to see if you can retrieve the digi-eggs first since you guys possess corresponding crests to them," Davis explained, "If it turns out you can't as it was in Tai's case with the digi-egg of Courage, I would like for Yolei and Cody to try and retrieve them," Davis turned to Kari and TK and instructed, "After they retrieve the digi-eggs of Love and Knowledge, they'll travel with you guys to the other temple to see if you both can retrieve the digi-eggs of Light and Hope."

"Why not just split the group in two and have us go to both temples at the same time?" Cody asked, "That way we cover more grounds."

"I thought about doing that at first," Davis countered, "But in light of the fact that Kari has the only Champion Digimon unlike the rest of us, I decided that safety in a group would possibly be a better option."

"Davis," Kari spoke up, "Your partner Veemon can armor digivolve and he's a stronger fighter. You didn't forget that right?"

"I'm aware of that Kari," Davis said, "But the fact of the matter is that I won't be joining you guys for the beginning part of this mission."

"What?" Kari replied with a disbelieving expression.

"You mean you're not coming with us?" Yolei asked with her disappointment clear on her face.

"And why aren't you coming for this mission?" Cody asked.

"Because there's something important that Veemon and I have to take care of elsewhere and besides I did the hardest part of the mission for you guys by locating those digi-eggs and mapping out where and how to find them before giving you guys this mission," Davis replied before turning to Izzy, "Izzy, I'll give you the coordinates to type into the Digi-Gate. Unfortunately, upon your arrival through the digi-port, the temple will be a distance of two miles and a quarter north from the digi-port, whereas the other location will be a distance of a mile and half east of that temple."

"What!?" Yolei cried.

"They're that far?" Sora asked.

"They are I'm sorry to say," Davis confirmed, "So you guys will be in for a walk. But so far Veemon found no immediate danger after he surveyed the regions you guys will be traveling in. But circumstances can still change so take nothing for granted. There's always a chance the Digimon Emperor will make a move."

"You really put a lot planning and preparation into this," Cody said with admiration.

"Whatever makes the mission easier in our fight against the Digimon Emperor," Davis remarked, "In any case, Veemon and I will work to catch up with you guys as fast as we can after we complete an important task of our own we have to see to."

"And what would this task be may I ask?" TK asked.

"Veemon and I need to take care of some business in another sector of the Digital World," Davis answered, "It's something we've been working on for some time now."

TK frowned seeing how Davis had a pattern in being evasive when it comes to some of his questions. Ignoring his frown, Davis turned to Izzy and said, "Until I arrive and join up with you guys, you're in charge Izzy. Can you handle that?"

"Do you really have to ask?" Izzy remarked.

"Just need to make sure I'm choosing the right guy as my temporary substitute," Davis replied with a hidden smirk.

"Very funny," Izzy shot back.

"I know I'm just full of humor," Davis sarcastically countered and continued, "Anyway, I'll give you the coordinates now so you can take the group to the Digital World and begin your mission."

Izzy and Davis went over to the commonly used computer station that was designated for the Digi-gate in order to input the coordinates before opening the gate.

"I wonder what's this task Davis and Veemon say they have to do that they can't tell us straight about," TK whispered to Kari.

"Whatever it is I'm sure Davis will tell us when both he and Veemon are ready to," Kari replied in the same low tone.

"Still, it wouldn't hurt to explain to us what's so important about what it is they have to do," TK said.

"TK," Kari asked, "Do you trust Davis?"

TK looked at Kari and asked, "What?"

"It's a yes or no question TK," Kari remarked and asked again, "Do you trust Davis, yes or no?"

"Judging from the amount of work he's put into this mission he's giving us," TK answered, "What's not to trust about him?"

"Then let's not concern ourselves with matters that don't involve us," Kari replied, "And while I admit that part of me wishes to know what they have to do, pressuring them into talking wouldn't do any form of good as it would show our lack of confidence in them. Besides like Davis already said, he did us a huge favor finding the digi-eggs for us and cutting down the amount of time and energy we would have had to use to find them. Shoot, even Tai when he was the leader wasn't able to pull off something like this."

"Tai was young and inexperienced and had to learn a lot along the way just like I did though not as leader," TK said, "But Davis the school genius on the other hand is clearly in a class of his own. Although to be fair, it was Tai's first trip to the Digital World while this is Davis' first team up with us after already gaining experience."

"All the more reason to trust him," Kari concluded confidently with a smile on her face. TK was about to say something…

"Alright guys the gate is set and ready!" Davis informed as he stepped out of the way, "Cody, Yolei, you'll have to take out your D3s and aim them at the computer monitor in order to teleport to the DigiWorld."

The duo nodded their heads and did as instructed. TK, Kari, Sora and Izzy took out their respective digivices and held them up towards the computer monitor.

"Are you guys ready?" Davis asked.

"Yolei and I are journeying to a new world for the first time Davis," Cody remarked, "I honestly don't know exactly how ready we're supposed to be."

"Don't be such an over-serious killjoy Cody!" Yolei said, "At least show some level of excitement!"

"I'm as excited as I am very nervous to be honest," Cody replied.

"That's only natural Cody," Davis assured, "But do be careful, stick together and watch each other's backs. I'll catch up and join up with you guys as soon as possible. Now go!"

"Digi-port open!" Izzy shouted before he and everyone but Davis were teleported into the computer screen, leaving Davis alone in the computer lab.

* * *

(The Digital World)

The group landed in the forest area filled with fresh meadows and grass. Yolei and Cody looked and found that their clothes changed from the ones they were previously wearing in the Real World.

"Cool!" Yolei cheered excitedly while checking out her new clothes and headwear, "We not only traveled to a whole new dimension but we also got hot new clothes to go with it!"

"I have to admit the new style is rather appealing for my taste," Cody remarked as he took a good look at his new outfit.

"I can only wonder why we were never issued new clothes during our first adventure here," Sora commented seeing how she and the rest of the group were still wearing their same clothes.

"Never mind that," Izzy suggested, "Let's-"

"Izzy!"

"Sora!"

"Kari!"

"TK!"

The group turned to see Tentomon, Biyomon, Gatomon and Patamon making their way over to the group. In Gatomon's case she was the only one running on all four while the others flew to their respective partners. Yolei and Cody watched with fascination as the four Digimon hugged and greeted their human partners.

"Wow!" Cody remarked with amazement, "Actual Digimon!"

"I know!" Yolei agreed while trying not to look grossed out, "But I just can't believe that Izzy's partner is a giant talking bug!"

"Yolei be nice," Cody lightly chastised.

"Hey Izzy!" Tentomon welcomed, "We've expecting you!"

"You guys have?" Izzy asked with a surprised look.

"Davis told us about the two temples he and Veemon found and asked us to escort you guys to those temples after he and Veemon first guided us to where those temples are," Biyomon explained.

"You mean you guys already know where those temples are?" Sora asked.

"Yep!" Patamon confirmed, "Davis told us it would make traveling through this forest easier for you guys if we knew ahead of time where to find those temples after you guys arrive here."

"Davis really wasn't joking when he said he did the hardest part of this mission," TK commented, "He's really taking the role as leader serious."

"When you take his past into consideration," Izzy remarked, "I don't see why he wouldn't."

"Touché," TK replied in response to Izzy's words.

"Well let's quit wasting time standing around here!" Gatomon said, "Let's head to the temple which has the digi-eggs of Love and Knowledge."

The group started walking through the forest while chatting cheerfully amongst themselves. Cody was listen to Izzy's stories about his research and theories concerning the Digital World while Yolei was talking with Sora and Biyomon. TK was talking with Patamon and asking about any new updates concerning the Digimon Emperor's activities in the Digital World.

Kari was left to her own thoughts and to be honest she didn't mind a chance to just enjoy the scenery. Though she was enjoying the peaceful atmosphere with her friends, Kari really wished Davis had come with them.

"Are you OK Kari?" Gatomon asked after seeing the look on her partner's face. Kari turned to her feline partner and assured, "I'm fine Gatomon. I was simply thinking about stuff while enjoying the current peaceful atmosphere."

"That's nice to know," Gatomon remarked and this asked, "Now would you mind telling me the truth?"

"H-Huh?" Kari stuttered with a surprised look on her face, "What are you talking about?"

"Kari," Gatomon said, "You were never good at lying and even now I know you're hiding something from me. So tell me what's bothering you."

Making sure the others weren't in hearing range, Kari confessed, "I just wished Davis was here and not elsewhere handling whatever it is he said he and Veemon had to take care of. I feel that if Davis was with us now taking the lead, I'd be more at ease."

"You don't think Izzy can handle this bunch alone while Davis is away?" Gatomon inquired.

"It's not that I doubted Izzy's competence as Davis' temporary substitute, but with Davis, I feel that I can trust and count on him to know what to do when things get hard to deal with," Kari explained while expressing herself, "I just feel warmer and safer being with him, knowing he can protect me."

"Have you always felt that way or are these feelings in light of recent events?" Gatomon asked.

"I've known Davis for a very long time Gatomon," Kari said and pointed out, "Longer than I've known you or anyone else in this group to tell you the truth."

"I see," Gatomon replied and admitted, "While I can't deny that I don't know Davis as well as you do or just as long, I can say that I've been around him long enough to see traits and qualities about him that you clearly cherish."

While the group continued down their trek to the temple, unbeknownst to them was that a dark ring was hovering over them, monitoring their actions and parts of their conversations.

* * *

(Unknown Location)

Ken, in his Digimon Emperor outfit, was sitting on his hovering chair looking at the monitor screen, observing the travel group and the Digimon with them. But he saw from the screen that one person in particular was missing from the group.

"Davis the shepherd boy chose not to show up," Ken said aloud before his expression turned dark, "But he sent his friends out to the pasture like a herd of sheep. And a sheep's fate is to be butchered so it's fitting that it be theirs as well, especially if it'll force Davis out into the opening."

The screen then focused on Kari as it replayed her words to Gatomon:

"… _with Davis, I feel that I can trust and count on him to know what to do when things get hard to deal with. I just feel warmer and safer being with him, knowing he can protect me."_

"My rival really means that much to that foolish, silly little girl," Ken chuckled with a sinister smile, "I'm going to see just how much confidence and trust she truly has in Davis after I hang the guillotine over her throat."

* * *

 **Davis has sent the DigiDestined out on a retrieval mission for the four digi-eggs of Love, Knowledge, Hope and Light. Though Davis did most of the work in making it easier for the group to get to the intended locations, things won't be smooth sailing for them as Ken is plotting something sinister against them.**

 **What cutthroat scheme will Ken implement against the group during Davis' absence? And what's this unknown task that Davis and Veemon have to do in the DigiWorld that they didn't want to reveal and talk about yet? Find out what happens next time.**


	5. Chapter Five: Let The Hunt Begin Part 2

**Chapter Five: Let The Hunt Begin (Part 2)**

* * *

(In A Desolate Part Of The Digital World)

Davis and Veemon were in a clearing that was free of control spires after Davis had Flamedramon destroy all of them the other day. Old Gennai was "present" by means of a holographic projector which was stationed next to Davis. It took Davis awhile to find a projector but thankfully Veemon learned of the location of one from the previous Digidestined Digimon. Through the holographic projector, Gennai was able to watch and communicate with Davis and Veemon.

"OK Veemon!" Davis said, "Get in position so Gennai can observe your performance!"

"Alright!" Veemon replied before running a number of feet ahead of them. Veemon then turned to face them.

"The stage is yours Veemon!" Davis declared before bringing out his D-3 and aiming it at his partner before a shining blue light emitted from it and enveloped Veemon, "Now digivolve!"

"Veemon digivolve to…Veedramon!"

What stood before Davis in its champion wasn't the familiar sight of the humanoid looking ExVeemon but an entirely new Digimon. The new Digimon that stood before them had a body structure that resembled a Greymon but was primarily blue and white with red eyes and some small scars on the body. He was as tall as Greymon but had a head that resembled a dragon more than a dinosaur. While Greymon's horns faced upward like a trident, Veedramon's horns were slightly larger and longer and faced backwards almost like a two point pitchfork. Like Greymon he also had a large horn over his nose and a row of sharp teeth and claws but unlike Greymon he had 5 fingers instead of 3 and small spikes that ran down his back. His body was mostly blue while his torso was white and had a blue V logo and his arms were white below the shoulders.

 **Digimon Data Analyzer**

 **Name: Veedramon**

 **Level: Champion**

 **Type: Vaccine/Dragon**

 **Attacks: V-Nova Blast, V-Breath Arrow, Cutting Shoot, Hammer Punch**

 **Info: An ancient mythical dragon of origins from long ago. It exists in the borders of the Digital World that're unexplored making it a Digimon that hasn't been encountered by others and therefore thought to be a legend. Despite its dinosaur like appearance that resembles a Greymon it actually possesses the power of a dragon. Even though it's a Digimon that hasn't been seen in ages it's not someone to be trifled with as this dragon knows how to fight to the very end and is known to fight as aggressive as any dinosaur.**

"Keep going!" Davis instructed.

"Veedramon digivolve to…AeroVeedramon!"

Another new Digimon stood before them. He looked like a slightly larger Veedramon who now had his horn made of metal and was in a more kneeling position. A major change was that he now had a set of mid-sized wings that looked like Airdramon's sprouting from his back and both of his index claws were now longer than the rest, giving them a sickle shaped look. He had what looked like flat metallic shoulder pads to cover the joints and the horns on his head grew a bit longer.

 **Name: AeroVeedramon**

 **Level: Ultimate**

 **Type: Vaccine/Dragon**

 **Attacks: V-Wing Blade, Dragon Impulse, V-Breath, Wind Guard**

 **Info: A powerful dragon type Digimon who evolved with a stronger body for better grappling and combat. With his offensive and defensive attacks, great strength and wings for flight, there is hardly anywhere to run and hide when this airborne tank has you in its sights. If his long range attacks don't take down his enemies then his teeth and claws will have his enemies rethinking their odds.**

For Veemon, it felt different being able to go Ultimate without the use of DNA digivolving and he liked it. It was a different experience for him since he couldn't feel the presence of Stingmon within him as they fought as one. It almost felt like when he first digivolved to champion level but different due to being in a new different form that was a separate line of evolution from ExVeemon.

"AeroVeedramon?" Gennai repeated, "Fascinating. Cyberdramon gave Veemon an extra data code for his other lines of digivolutions of Veedramon and AeroVeedramon."

"That's right," Davis confirmed, "However, both AeroVeedramon and I are trying to take things a step further."

"What do you mean?" Gennai asked while turning to Davis.

"I'll show you what I mean," Davis said and then turned to his partner, "AeroVeeramon!" Davis called out and then instructed, "Try to Mega digivolve from this point!"

AeroVeedramon gathered all of his power and tried to focus it into a central core of himself. Davis saw the strain in his partner's expression as he was really trying to achieve the level of Mega. After several moments, AeroVeedramon fell to his hands and knees, catching his breath and growling in frustration in his inability to go Mega.

"It's not working!" AeroVeedramon said in disappointment as he punched his right fist into the ground, "No matter how hard I train and try, I'm still unable to go Mega!"

"Achieving the level of Mega is never an easy feat to accomplish," Gennai said, "There have been many who have tried and never succeeded."

"You're not helping Gennai!" AeroVeedramon retorted in annoyance.

"I didn't mean that as a way to discourage you AeroVeedramon," Gennai said and expounded, "It's just a known truth. But hard training isn't enough for one like yourself to achieve the level of Mega. However, many Digimon have achieved that level in other various ways. For example, Tai's and Matt's partners went Mega by warp digivolving through all of their forms from Rookie, Champion and Ultimate until they achieved Mega. From what I recall, Tai and Matt were both struck with glowing arrows from Angemon and Angewomon that triggered their partners' abilities to warp digivolve to Mega. Although that was due to a prophesy that was foretold about the miracle that would happen."

AeroVeedramon turned to Davis and asked, "Wanna try getting yourself shot with one or two of Angemon's glowing arrows?"

"I doubt it would work the same way with you both," Gennai cautioned, "Circumstances were different that allowed that unique event to happen without any harm being done to both Matt and Tai."

Davis then chuckled, "But I will admit that the look on their faces would be priceless as TK would look at me crazy if I were to ask him to have Angemon shoot me with one or two of his beam arrows with Kari panicking and thinking I became suicidal for even suggesting it as an experiment to see if that would make my partner go Mega."

"And you accuse me of having dark humor," AeroVeedramon snorted before he was enveloped by a light as his body rapidly shrunk and reverted back to Veemon.

"Well not every Digimon attains power and stronger levels in the same manner as I explained," Gennai reminded.

"That being said," Davis said with his hand on his chin, "It makes me wonder if we have to resort to having my Digimon partner find and assimilate a Mega Digimon's data in order for him to attain a new data code and achieve whatever Mega form he'd succeed in having from that new data code."

"You want me to hunt down and battle a Mega Digimon so I can absorb and encode his data into myself?" Veemon asked and then remarked, "That wouldn't be an easy battle to win but I 'm sure it can be done!"

"Before resorting to the use of data assimilation," Gennai said, "There's a little something you need to know about that forbidden technique."

"A forbidden technique?" Davis asked.

"During the ancient era of the Digital World," Gennai explained, "Many Digimon of old had the power to assimilate other Digimon. Survival of the fittest was the prehistoric way of thinking back then. In time though because of that flawed ideology, assimilation of Digimon was heavily abused by power-hungry Digimon who gluttonously went from battle after battle fighting and absorbing other Digimon they defeated in their power-drunk quest to increase their own powers, strengths and speed. That ability was removed from nearly every Digimon by the four Sovereigns due to the fear that those Digimon with that ability would massacre the population of various Digimon to near extinct numbers. Assimilation as a result became a lost and forgotten ancient forbidden technique with very few knowing and remembering its existence. Veemon is the only known vaccine type Digimon with this capacity as all the others like him were eventually wiped out."

"That's quite the history lesson Gennai," Davis commented, "But since Veemon has this ability naturally, I'll be there to control his use of Digimon assimilation and use it only when necessary."

"If you do resort to implementing that technique," Gennai said, "I advised you exercise both control and restraint. There are some other dangers to assimilation that even I am not familiar with."

"We understand," Davis said compliantly and then inquired, "Is there any way you can find out more things about my partner's past considering that it's shrouded in many myths and speculations? Perhaps it can give us some clues and ideas about how we can unlock more of my partner's hidden potential."

"It's funny you should ask since I did in fact learn interesting things about Veemon's draconian ancestor," Gennai said, immediately catching Davis' and Veemon's attention.

"What can you tell us?" Veemon asked with anticipation as he waited for Gennai's answer.

"There was once a Digimon called Dracomon," Gennai started off explaining as he showed them a holographic picture of the said Digimon through the projector he was communicating with, "He was an ancient, pure-blooded dragon Digimon that's said to be the "Progenitor" of all Dramon-type Digimon like yourself Veemon. He possessed physical ability to a degree that couldn't be imagined from his small build, and both his power and his quick wits were top class among Rookie Digimon. Although his personality was ferocious, Dracomon was able to show his gentle side only to the others he recognized. It had wings, but he was unable to fly because they are not sufficiently developed. Also, he had a nature whose primary trait is wanting to collect "shiny things," with an especially strange attachment to gems and metals, and he ate and assimilated his favorite things."

"So Dracomon was the first patriarch dragon Digimon with the ability to assimilate and clearly Veemon inherited this ability from him as his descendant," Davis said thoughtfully.

"Correct," Gennai confirmed, "But there was a dark trait to Dracomon. Amongst the scales that cover Dracomon's whole body, there is one scale that was called the "Gekirin." If he was touched there, Dracomon would lose his mind to an excess of anger, and indiscriminately fires his "G Shurunen." With that attack, he made the horns on his head glow intensely, then fired a beam shot from the back of his mouth."

"Veemon doesn't have such a scale on his body from what I know," Davis said, "But besides the ability to assimilate, my partner also inherited Dracomon's appetite."

"Hey!" Veemon retorted, "I have to keep with up my diet you know!"

"Whatever," Davis snorted before turning his attention back to Gennai, "Is there anything else you can tell us about Dracomon?"

"He had other digivolutions forms, those being Coredramon his Champion level, Wingdramon his Ultimate level and Slayerdramon his Mega level."

"Fascinating information about my partner's patriarch ancestor," Davis said, "At least now we have better insight on Veemon's origins."

"Indeed we do," Gennai said as he appearance returned back through the projector, "But there's still more to Veemon and his past than that."

"What else can you tell us?" Davis asked with the thirst to learn more.

"I'll have to continue my research and get back to you and Veemon on that," Gennai replied, causing Davis and Veemon to groan in disappointment.

"Fine," Davis and Veemon mumbled. Then Davis said, "Going back to the topic of digivolution, I have one other question I want to ask you."

"And that is?" Gennai inquired.

"Is there a way Tai and the "older" Destined can have their crests restored to them?" Davis asked, "It would help out in our cause if their Digimon could digivolve to Ultimate and Mega once again."

"Though it was from your crest of Miracles where the original eight crests originated," Gennai answered, "Restoring their crests I'm afraid will not be possible. Your friends sacrificed their crests in order to protect the Digital World from the darkness that tried to corrupt it after the incident with Apocalymon."

"I see," Davis said as he contemplated on Gennai's words and then theorized, "Since my golden crest created the original ones, is it possible then that I can use my crest of Miracles to re-create their eight crests and grant their Digimon back their powers and abilities to go Ultimate and Mega once again?"

"It's a possibility worth trying," Gennai said and then explained, "However without the power of the golden radiance fully restored to your golden crest and the golden digi-egg back in your possession, it will not be possible."

"I understand," Davis said contemplatively.

"But in the meantime Davis," Gennai stated, "I'll need both you and your Digimon partner to deal with this Digimon Emperor who has been causing much trouble and grief to both the Digimon and the Digital World. I understand that two new DigiDestineds have been added to the ranks and have joined your crusade to defend the Digital World. I'm counting on you as the chosen Golden Child to guide and lead them well, Daisuke Motomiya."

"I will," Davis assured, "You can count on that."

"Until next time," Gennai concluded, "Take care."

The hologram of Gennai disappeared and the projector itself flew off away from Davis, leaving the area entirely.

"Well," Veemon remarked, "We're back where we started and I still can't go Mega, at least for now. But on a major plus side we learned a lot about my ancestor and how I inherited the ability to assimilate."

"Originally you became Imperialdramon after you received Azulongmon's power when you were Paildramon," Davis recalled, "You were able to go Fighter Mode from that after all of the other Digimon gave you their power. And you managed to achieve Paladin Mode after Omnimon gave you his power during our battle against Armageddomon."

"I remember those events Davis," Veemon replied, "I never forgot them. I wish we knew what could trigger my ability to go Mega without needing to DNA digivolve first. If assimilation is the key, I wonder how many stronger Digimon I'll have to battle and absorb before I go Mega."

"Well I didn't become a multibillionaire overnight in my previous life Veemon," Davis stated, "It took patience and a great deal of hard work and many sacrifices through sweat and blood."

"You made blood offerings in your past to become a billionaire?" Veemon asked with a horrified expression.

"No Veemon!" Davis replied after seeing his misunderstanding, "But I sure as hell crushed all of my competitions and bought out their companies. What I'm getting at is that we will find a way for you to go Mega without the need to DNA digivolve. But until then, we'll have to continue to be patient and train if that will help you achieve that goal. And when we do, you can flex your muscles to Gatomon all you like as an alpha."

Veemon was about to say something when he thought about how he'd possible look like as a Mega Digimon different from Imperialdramon. He pictured himself as a powerful majestic armored humanoid dragon taking out all of his enemies effortlessly before seeing Gatomon running and praising him as her hero and knight in shining armor. Another thought was him as a huge and fierce looking dragon like Azulongmon tearing through the skies and raining doom onto his enemies with Gatomon watching in awe and amazement. Veemon was grinning happily while fantasizing about Gatomon in his own world. His thoughts were abruptly interrupted when Davis pounded his right fist into the top of his head.

"Hey!" Veemon retorted angrily, "What was that for!?"

"We still have work to do," Davis reminded with his arms crossed over his chest, "Fantasize about romancing and mating with Gatomon all you like on your own time."

"I wasn't having those kind of fantasies," Veemon denied with a deep blush on his face and the countered, "And don't think I don't remember when you used to talk in your sleep whenever you had those vivid wet dreams about Kari way back then in your first life! I ought to relate them to her!"

"Veemon," Davis warned with a cold tone, "I'll slap a dark ring on you myself and turn you into Ken's personal plaything if you ever tell Kari about my embarrassing past!"

"Oh yeah!?" Veemon challenged with a reptilian growl.

"Yeah!" Davis shot back with both him and Veemon growling and glaring intensely at each other, before both them burst out die-laughing at each other. Soon after their laughter calmed down enough…

"OK I think we joked and cracked on each other enough," Davis said.

"Davis," Veemon asked, "I've been meaning to ask you this for some time now, all jokes aside."

"What is it?" Davis inquired.

"Please don't get upset with me but," Veemon started off, "Did any of your old feelings for Kari resurface? And what's your feelings regarding the fact that Yolei likes you in this timeline?"

Davis looked at Veemon and inquired, "What brought this up?"

"Davis," Veemon replied, "We both know that Kari and Yolei aren't how they used to be back then anymore and both girls are attracted to you for their own reasons. And I'm sure you've seen the friction and tension between them as a result."

"…Such irony," Davis sighed, "When they didn't like me, they were the best of friends. And because they do in this timeline, they're reluctant teammates and rivals towards each other."

"They both have the desire of becoming your girlfriend," Veemon pointed out.

"I'm very well aware of that about Veemon," Davis stated, "But a few things do get to me some times."

"Like what?" Veemon asked.

"One," Davis explained, "The fact that mentally and in heart I'm 31 years old though physically I'll be 13 years old again in a few weeks thanks to this time-space dimensional age reversal. To be honest I could go for a good lay with a woman right now but my present circumstances won't permit me to do so. If I were to date either Kari or Yolei, it would make me feel a bit awkward since it would feel like I'm dating a minor."

On hearing that, Veemon remarked mischievously, "Hey, isn't the age of consent 13 years old in Japan? Yolei is already 13 and Kari will be 13 in a few months. Just be patient and before long you'll be able to choose which of the two you want to mate with."

Davis' right eye twitched before he replied, "You really got dirty jokes Veemon."

"Says the genius man-boy who wants to get laid," Veemon shot back teasingly, "Hey who knows? Maybe you might find a hot female school teacher who would love to deflower you. Such student-teacher relationships aren't unheard of these days."

Davis took a deep breath as he clenched his gloved right fist and threatened, "You know what, I think I'll end this topic with a harder whack across your head! Come here!"

Veemon ran as Davis chased him around the field.

"Come back here and fight like a Flamedramon!" Davis yelled.

"Armor digivolve me first and we'll go from there!" Veemon yelled back as he continued running. But after another minute, Veemon was tackled and pinned down to the ground by his partner.

"Alright! I surrender! I'm sorry!" Veemon replied quickly before his partner could hold true to his word about smacking him across the head again.

"Apology accepted," Davis said with a victorious smile pasted on his face before allowing Veemon to stand back up and he stood up also.

"But seriously," Veemon said as he returned back to the original subject, "I'm sure you'd be able to work through that awkwardness after some time. Is there anything else that bugs you?"

"The fact that in my future Ken married Yolei and had 3 good kids while as for Kari, after I broke my friendship off with her back in high school…You know the story already," Davis said.

"I can say the same thing about me and Gatomon. I didn't end up with her in the future either," Veemon said but countered, "But that sure as hell doesn't mean that we have to accept what happened in our past lives as sealed fate Davis," Veemon advised, "We both were given a second chance in life for one reason or other. Do you really want to go back to being a lonely multi-billionaire bachelor?"

"I was a bachelor but not lonely," Davis replied, "But you're right in reminding me that we don't have to accept what happened in our past as sealed fate. And with the changes we've already made and past mistakes we've avoided nothing will be the same in the new unknown future yet to come."

"I'm already in Gatomon's good grace," Veemon said with a happy smile, "And she's looking forward to the next time I take her out to dine her."

"Damn you work fast," Davis remarked with a grin.

"I'm not going lose my chance to make her my mate like last time," Veemon said with an optimistic smile.

"With that burning fire in your eyes, I can't see you doing so," Davis said, "With regards to myself however, I'll sort my feelings out and in time decide who's best for me. Because if I'm truly honest with myself, I don't want to live life as a single bachelor again, billionaire or not."

"I wouldn't want you to either," Veemon commented, "So, when are you going to choose between Kari and Yolei? We both know they like you for their own reasons as I said before."

"I'll sort and figure my feelings out soon Veemon," Davis assured, "I just hope I make the right choice between them and not make a mess of things. But with regards to Yolei's feelings for me, it's new to me as I've never seen her show me any type of romantic interest or attraction before. Though in our first lives she had crushes on any guy she thought was super cute and cool."

"Well you're not just any guy Davis," Veemon remarked, "You're the Golden Child who pulls Miracles."

"Trying to gas me up, are you?" Davis replied, "Still, with regards to Yolei's affections for me, I'm not so sure I could accept them."

"And why not?" Veemon inquired.

"Considering the happiness and three children she had with Ken in our previous lives," Davis answered, "Me getting involved romantically involved with Yolei would feel like I'm stealing Ken's happiness since she's meant to be wi-"

"Don't even finish that statement Davis!" Veemon interjected with chastising tone, "All your life you never once believed in destined love so don't start now! Nothing is set in stone, not even their future as you can see from our own situation! And don't forget the fact that _you_ boosted Tai's self-confidence in going after Sora first a few days ago before Matt could get involved with her like how it happened in our first lives! Keep in mind too that Ken in this timeline is trying to kill us! Where will _our_ happiness be if he actually succeeds in ending our lives!?"

Davis was left speechless while listening to Veemon's words.

"We don't know what the new unwritten future has in store for us Davis," Veemon continued, "Anything can happen, _anything_. And as we have seen over the course of nearly five years, the past and previous future we knew and once lived in no longer exist. Everything has changed, both in the Real World and the Digital World."

"In short," Davis replied, "We can't blindly trust or reply on our old memories to predict everything that will happen."

"Exactly," Veemon agreed, "And I'm sorry if I sound cold but you can't say that Yolei should be with Ken. It's not our place to decide that for her. You may choose and want to be with Yolei in the end, or you may choose and want to be with Kari or maybe a different human female. We don't know what will happen until you sort and figure out your feelings in the end like you said to me before. So please don't beguiled yourself into believing that your or anyone else's future or love life is irreversibly set or predetermined for them."

Davis tried to come up with a reply, but he couldn't think of anything to say to logically refute Veemon's speech to him.

"This is one of the rarest times you verbally shut me down and set me straight," Davis replied with a small grin, "Thanks for your concern and pep talk."

"No problem," Veemon assured, "That's what friends and partners are for."

"In any case," Davis suggested, "We better make our way to the others now."

Veemon nodded his head as Davis pulled out his D3 and shouted "Digi-armor Energize!"

"Veemon armor digivolve to…Raidramon, The Storm of Friendship!"

Davis got on board his partner's back and said, "Let's go!"

"I'm on it!" Raidramon said before galloping as fast as he could to head to where the group possible was. He could only hope that they didn't run into trouble before his arrival but his gut was telling him that something was going to happen despite his best efforts to prevent it. While riding on Raidramon, Davis' mind started drifting off to an incident in his past life that triggered a change not only with his dynamics among the other DigiDestined but his life course all together…

* * *

(Flashback: 13 Years Ago)

The day at school came to a finish and many of the high school students went and got ready to leave for home while others stayed after school for club activities. Davis (age 18) in the meantime was at his locker changing his school shoes for sneakers. He was done before long with his backpack on and secured on his back. Taking a breath, he exhaled and started on his way out. As he was making his way from his locker…

"Daisuke!" a known female voice called out to him from behind. Davis knew that Kari (age 17) would only refer to him by his true name when she was either angry at him or wanted to talk serious about something and from the tone she used with his name, it clearly was a combination of both.

"Yes Hikari?" Davis asked with a neutral tone as he returned the favor in using her real first name before turning to face her. He took a good like at her and saw the expression of anger, hurt and confusion written all in her facial expression. She slowly approached him as he waited for her to say something to him. She stood a foot away from him as he literally looked down at her.

Seeing that she wasn't speaking, Davis decided to break the awkward silence between them and asked, "You came looking to say something to me Kari? By this time, you're usually walking home with TK. Shouldn't you be looking for him now?"

"Do you really want me out of your life this much that you don't even want to see my face?" Kari asked, "Going as far as to dismiss me even now?"

"What more do you want me to say or do Kari?" Davis asked calmed and then continued, "You always knew how I felt about you for years, since elementary school. But despite my best efforts to appeal to you, you made it very clear to me that you don't want me as a boyfriend and that you don't see me as someone you want to date. I stubbornly refused to acknowledge this as it was very hard for me to accept until recently when I realized that it's time for me to grow up and move on."

"By "moving on," you mean ending your friendship with me!" Kari remarked with an angry tone filled with hurt.

"So I should just stick around in the friend zone and watch you find happiness in the arms of another guy while wishing I was that guy you found happiness with?" Davis asked and then stated, "If TK is the guy you want to be with Kari, then just hookup and be with him. I won't stop you or get in your way anymore."

"TK is a dear friend to me Davis just as you are," Kari attempted to reason, "You've always been a friend I cared for."

"Right," Davis remarked skeptically, "You cared about me enough to flirt with TK in front of me all the time while toying with my emotions just so you could make me jealous and act out in foolishness. Honestly, did you always enjoy watching me make a fool of myself in front of you and everyone who watched whenever my jealousy over your closeness with TK was provoked? I lost count of how many times Yolei and the others accused and called me a jerk who pick fights with TK for all the wrong reasons."

"…I'm sorry," Kari apologized with her head lowered and her eyes looking at the floor, "I had no idea that my actions caused you so much trouble and pain."

"No you didn't," Davis replied, "I suppose you and the others figured that I would just brush it off like everything else I could get over. No, you and the others gave no considerations to my feelings or how I've been hurt and affected by what others have said about me because of your actions."

"I said that I'm sorry Davis!" Kari pleaded, "Can't we just put what happened in the past behind us and patch things up between us?"

"You mean us to going back to being _just friends_ again?" Davis asked, "Like school buddies or things of that nature?"

"And what's so wrong about you being one of my male friends?" Kari inquired.

"Because it doesn't work and can never work!" Davis stated and then continued, "You just don't get it Kari! Us being "just friends" was never what I wanted! Every time you call me "friend," I cringe because even now I can't help but want more than friendship with you! You don't understand what it's like for me always wanting and desiring to be more to you but can never fulfill that desire because that's not what you want! It's slow torture for me!

"Well I didn't see or hear the other boys in the classroom agree with everything you were saying!" Kari countered.

"You don't know this but the other guys from our first class later confronted me and admitted that they agreed with everything I said. But I scolded them for their blatant cowardice for not speaking out when the floor was open to them to speak," Davis said, causing Kari to fall into a momentary silence seeing how her previous statement was negated, "Only TK vocally sided with me before confessing a revelation you found hard to believe since his indirect confession contradicted your argument."

"TK said it to me so suddenly in front of the teacher and the entire class!" Kari replied, "His proclamation caught me completely off guard especially his reason as to why he continued hanging with me! I didn't know what to think and even now I don't know what to think nor do I know what to do!"

"If that's the case Kari," Davis remarked and then advised, "Then it would be best if you spend some time away from TK and reevaluate your feelings about him and decide from there what it is you really want to do. He's hoping to date you and have you as a girlfriend to confide in. The question is: is that what you want."

Kari looked up at Davis and wondered when he became this wise and mature.

"I never knew that TK had such feelings for me," Kari admitted.

"Kari seriously," Davis asked with an incredulous tone, "What did you think was going to eventually happen? Maybe at the start TK didn't see you as a potential girlfriend but as a comrade that's fun and cool to associate with, and normally that's how things always start out. But after he spent so much time hanging with you and flirting with you, he ended up starting to like you and building hopes that he'll actually develop into a real romantic relationship with you, because like me, he's looking for more than friendship with you. The person you flirted with to make me jealous now wants the real thing with you. The question is: do you like Takeru Takaishi as more than a friend. And if so, why? Or if not, why?"

Kari was lost for words as her mind was processing everything Davis told and explained to her. Davis waited silently for Kari to reply but for the next couple of moments, all that he got was her silence.

"You can't even answer the question but you can easily say you don't like me and don't want to date me," Davis remarked as he shook his head in disbelief.

"Davis…I…," Kari stuttered as she could find the right words to say.

"I really don't know what else to tell you," Davis stated and further added, "But I suggest you really think about everything that's happened today and figure out how you really feel towards TK. Whether or not you decide to date him or somebody else is entirely up to you. And like I said earlier, I won't get in your way or stop you anymore.

"And I'm through being jealous of both of you and TK, and I'm so sorry it took me this long to grow up and mature. And as far as you and I being "just friends" is concerned…it's not realistic. I'm sorry but that's something I can't live with and it's time we accept that reality as we're not 8, 10 or 13 years old anymore. Hopefully in the future, I'll find contentment and happiness with a girl who'll love and appreciate me for just being me. Goodbye, Hikari Kamiya."

Davis turned and walked off down the hallway towards the exit without giving Kari a second glance. He didn't turn to look back at Kari or say another word to her as he exited through the doors, exiting the school building. Had he turned around to look behind him, he'd have seen the girl crying and running off in the opposite direction. But rather then look back at what he left behind, he decided to keep walking, looking straightforward to the unknown future that laid ahead of him…

* * *

(Later That Day)

Tai and the others got wind of what happened after Kari tearfully told them that Davis decided to end his friendship with her and have nothing to do with her anymore. News about this shocked everyone but Ken who suspected Davis would do that in time. Tai and the rest of the older and younger DigiDestined confronted Davis about the matter the following day in the late part of the afternoon. When Davis arrived at the spot in the park he was asked to meet, he found that everyone showed, including Ken.

Tai started the meeting off by telling Davis that they all just want to talk with him about what happened between him and Kari. Davis though didn't look surprised at all since he figured that this would happen. When he was asked why he decided to break his friendship off with Kari, he replied by asking if Kari gave them his explanation. In reply, Tai patiently told Davis to explain things himself as everyone wanted to hear his explanation from his own mouth. Sighing and holding his annoyance back, Davis again explained why he decided to end being friends with Kari and move on with his life.

But he started by explaining what primarily influenced and moved him to make that life-changing decision: it was his private conversation with his father a week earlier. He explained everything his father told him about cross-gender friendships and what he, his father, personally went through because of the misunderstandings, misinterpreted signals and heartbreaks that resulted from his cross-gender friendships. Davis then explained that his father's experiences were a lot like his and that he, Davis, unwittingly repeated all of his father's mistakes and now wanted to correct them the same way his father did.

On hearing that, Tai and the others saw how deeply Davis' father mentally and emotionally influenced his recent actions. They tried to talk Davis into finding another way in dealing with his predicament instead of cutting Kari out of his life entirely. Davis however countered by explaining how everyone knew how he deeply felt about Kari and how they, with the exception of Ken, took his feelings for her lightly and made fun of him because of it. Adding to the insult, Davis explained, was how Kari would repeatedly flirt with TK to arouse his anger and jealousy and when he reacted, he was made to look like the bad guy and ridiculed as "the jerk" that was always picking fights with TK.

Davis told them that his broken heart could no longer take it and that he didn't want to go back to the way things were in being "just friends" with a girl he wished he was more than friends with but would never be given a chance to by her. He tearfully added that though he decided to stop chasing after Kari, part of him still loved her, and that was what hurt most. He concluded by saying that he wanted to heal, grow up and move on with his life, regardless of whether or not everyone else hated him for his decision.

After listening to Davis' words, Tai was able sympathize with Davis to an extent but not all the way. He was able to see why it would be hard for Davis to be close to Kari with the way he felt for her and the things he went through over the years. Through the discussion, Davis didn't bring up how TK admitted to liking Kari in front of the class or what he told Kari about TK's actions in class and how she was affected by it. He kept the topic entirely on his problems and his decision on handling them.

After a short moment of silence, Tai consented and agreed to Davis' choice, much to the shock of Kari and everyone else present. Tai made it clear that they couldn't force Davis to do anything against his will and that his mind was already made up. Tai said as much as it pained him, they have to respect Davis' decision. Davis knew that his decision would affect the others also and the way he would interact with them, if at all again.

In the end, Davis left the group without having anything else to say. He just kept walking as though he was leaving things meant to be left behind. He didn't even give them a second glance, feeling as though to do so would be longing for the way things were, things he wanted to move on from. By that time, Kari was already sobbing in tears again with Tai, Yolei and Sora trying to comfort her after seeing how even the others couldn't change Davis' mind about not wanting her any longer as a friend and out of his life. While everyone there lost a close friend and ally that day, for Kari she lost her longtime childhood friend who would have done anything for her.

* * *

(For The Next 11 Years)

Since that day, Davis had barely kept in contact with both the older and younger groups with Ken being the only one he actually continued hanging with and talking to. His older sister Jun was another person Davis developed a stronger bond with after that one night he took care and looked out for her after she got dumped, humiliated and drunk. And during the years, Davis focused his mind and body into his studies, his work, his hobbies in playing chess and the violin, and his business ambitions until he achieved his dreams in building his multi-billion dollar food franchise corporation by the time he was in his late 20s.

Jun, by the time she turned 30, became a licensed hematologist, and in terms of looks, she became a lovely woman who look no older than 22 with her long red hair flowing down her back. Several men and foreigners were also interested in asking her out. That was something that had secretly surprised Matt since he remembered Jun as a boy-crazy spiked haired teenage fangirl. Ken became a famed detective and married Yolei after he turned 26.

Though he wasn't married at that time, Davis was pretty much content with his life though Jun and Ken did try to talk him into finding someone to date and marry since he was already well established. During that time, Davis never once inquired about Kari's marital status, not bothering to know whether or not she was dating or married. A couple of times though, Ken tried to hint at Davis about Kari's status, her change of character and maturity. But Davis gave little to no interest about the subject, feeling that doing so would reopen old wounds he'd rather forget about.

In his last conversation with Ken before the whole time-space dimensional reboot incident, Ken managed to talk and convince Davis into coming to the Digidestined reunion, telling him how everyone had been asking to see and talk to him again. Ken even convinced Davis that it was time for him (Davis) to make peace and reconcile with Kari. Davis nonchalantly agreed while assuming that Kari by that time was already married to either TK or another guy with possibly a child or two. He assumed this before Ken could properly inform him about Kari's actual marital status as a single woman with no children.

* * *

(End Flashback: Present Time)

Davis sighed as he reminisced about the positive and negative events that shaped his previous life and made him who he was back then. Though some things in his past were hard, heartbreaking and sad, other parts were joyous, constructive and beneficial with successful and great outcomes and those were what he focused on to drive his optimistic spirit to look to the new unknown future with an upright attitude.

"Davis?" Raidramon called out, "Hey Davis!?"

Davis snapped out of his train of thoughts and returned back to the present.

"What happened?" Davis asked, "Did I miss something?"

"I was calling you for a minute but you didn't respond," Raidramon explained, "I thought either you lost your hearing or my voice became too soft for you to hear me. I was almost thinking about giving you an electric shock to wake you."

"Sorry about that Raidramon," Davis apologized, "I kind of spaced out and drifted off to memory lane."

"Thinking about how things were for us back then?" Raidramon asked while he kept running through the field and even leaping over constructs like a graceful panther.

"Something like that," Davis said, "And how things and circumstances back then no longer exist or apply to today. I could only wonder what new future events and revelations we'll have to look forward to."

"All I can say Davis is that we'll have to gallop and continue moving forward to see what the new unknown future has in store for us," Raidramon commented.

"Are you ready?" Davis asked.

"With us sticking together through thick and thin, we can do and face anything!" Raidramon said with confidence.

"The let's ride to the unknown and make a new future!" Davis cheered as Raidramon galloped faster.

* * *

(Meanwhile With The Group)

"Are we there yet?" Yolei whined.

"Almost," Biyomon sighed, "Tentomon and I would have digivolved into our large forms and flew you guys to those temples but there are too many control spires in the area."

"Can we at least take a short break before we continue?" Yolei asked with her arms slumped, "It wouldn't hurt that much to rest up for a bit would it?"

"I suppose stopping briefly wouldn't be so bad," Izzy consented, "We have been walking for quite a while now."

The group stopped walking and took seats on nearby rocks big enough for them to sit on.

"It feels good to sit after walking that long," Cody said, "I wish I brought something to drink and eat with me."

"I'm sure we can find something edible in the forest to eat," Tentomon said turning to his fellow Digimon, "Let's go see what's in the forest that we can feed on."

"You, Patamon and Biyomon go," Gatomon suggested, "I'll stay and keep an eye on things around here."

The other Digimon agreed and flew off to search for whatever food they could find.

"Hey Gatomon," Kari asked, "Do you have an idea how far we are from the first temple now?"

"About an eight to ten-minute walk from where we are now," Gatomon answered.

"We were that close yet we stopped?" TK asked.

"Well you guys agreed that you wanted a break and something to eat first," Gatomon reminded.

"True," TK agreed. After a couple of minutes, the other three Digimon returned with peaches that were different in colors. Yolei and Cody had looks of confusion upon seeing the strangely colored fruits.

"I've never seen a pink colored peach before!" Yolei said.

"Or blue or purple ones for that matter!" Cody added.

"They're all good," Tentomon assured, "We made sure of that. They're very tasty we promise."

"Alright," Yolei agreed as she took the pink one and bit into it. After chewing on it, she exclaimed, "This taste like a deluxe cheese burger!"

"What?" Cody asked in disbelief, "How could a fruit taste like a burger?"

"Try the blue one," Patamon suggested, "I'm sure you'll enjoy it."

Cody shrugged before taking the suggested peach and biting into it. After chewing it he said, "My taste like grilled chicken!"

"The purple is like a fruit cocktail!" Sora said after eating the one Biyomon gave her. For the next couple of minutes and group ate the multi-flavored peaches till they were full and satisfied. When they were done, they continued on their way to the temple. Before long they came to a wide rocky clearing with the temple a distance up ahead of them. The temple itself resembled the Mayan's temple structure design in South America.

"Finally!" Yolei cheered happily, "We almost there!"

"C'mon!" Izzy said, "Let's hurry and get to the temple."

The group continued through the rocky open field believing everything was smooth sailing for them. That was until the ground started shaking underneath their feet, with the tremor growing stronger with each passing second.

"What's happening!? An earthquake!?" Yolei panicked.

"Last time I thought it was just an earthquake we got ambushed!" TK remarked before a thunderous roar from the ground occurred as the earth cracked and opened up in the middle of their group, resulting in Kari and Gatomon falling into the opening crevice with a scream. Acting quickly, Sora grabbed Yolei and pulled her out of harm's way while Izzy pulled Cody away from the large crevice.

"Kari!" TK screamed as struggled to maintain his balance and keep from falling into the opened ground as Patamon and Biyomon pulled him back. The ground stopped shaking, TK hurried back to the crevice and saw that Kari managed to grab one of the rocks that stuck out from the wall of the fissure while Gatomon tried to dig her claws into the wall of the crevice to prevent herself from falling deeper. TK got on the ground and extended his right hand out to Kari in an effort to reach and pull her up and out of the opened earth.

"Take my hand!" TK yelled out urgently as he tried to reach her. Kari tried to reach his hand when another earthquake occurred, causing the rock she was holding onto to get loose and break off from the wall, resulting in her and Gatomon to fall further into the crevice just as a Drimogemon with a large dark ring around its arm made his appearance known. Despite struggling to keep away, Kari and Gatomon couldn't avoid the large claw that reached out and grabbed them to drag her deeper into darkness of the chasm.

"NO!" TK screamed, "Kari!"

"Heads up people we got company!" Tentomon warned as several Flymon, which looked like overgrown warps, and a Tyranomon, which looked like red tyrannosaurus dinosaurs made their appearance known to the group after Kari's and Gatomon's capture. All of the said Digimon had dark rings around them.

Yolei fell to her knees, shaking in fear of their attackers. Cody looked around in a hurry while trying to find some kind of escape route but saw that the wide crevice behind them made retreating impossible with the enemy Digimon platoon in front of them. Patamon tried to provide cover fire against Tyranomon but his attacks did little to nothing to harm the stronger Digimon.

"Biyomon, can you digivolve!?" Sora asked urgently.

"We can't!" Biyomon reminded with panic, "There's too many control spires in the area!"

"No more! I wanna get out of here!" Yolei cried loudly in fear for the worst as Tyranomon started moving in on them with the army of Flymon surrounding them from above.

 **"Blue Thunder!"** a strong voice echoed over the field as a heavy bombardment of lightning fell from the sky and struck Tyranomon in the back, causing him to collapse and grunt in pain. Lightning rained down on the swarm of Flymon, striking them down and rendering them unable to fly or do any harm to the group. The dark rings that were around those Digimon dispersed into data fragments, freeing the Flymon from their control.

"Raidramon! Take out Tyranomon before he escapes underground!" Davis instructed while riding on his partner's back and into the rocky field from the same direction the group traveled had come from.

"Got it!" Raidramon yelled before he leaped high into the air over the wide crevice while gathering his energy for another attack, **"Thunder Blast!"**

The black armored Digimon fired a strong lightning rod at the dinosaur Digimon, disabling him and destroying the dark ring in one attack. Raidramon landed down and hurried over to the group. Davis dismounted off his partner's back and went over his team. Sora did what she could to calm Yolei down who was still crying and terrified. Cody was shaken up by the encounter with Izzy calming him down, though he wasn't in as bad of shape as Yolei. Davis looked from one to the other until he saw that someone was missing.

"Where's Kari?!" Davis asked.

"She's gone!" Yolei cried tearfully, "She and that white feline Digimon with her fell into that crater after an earthquake occurred!"

"I tried to save her," TK said regretfully, "But this Digimon appeared and captured both her and Gatomon and dragged them deep into the chasm."

 _'Shit!'_ Davis cursed mentally, _'Before, I was the one who was taken by one of the Digimon Emperor's minions and held captive against my will on the side of the canyon. What's Ken scheming differently this time, I wonder.'_

"Do you know which Digimon it was that captured Kari and Gatomon?" Davis asked.

"It was a Drimogemon," TK answered.

"I'm sorry this ambush happened but clearly the Digimon Emperor must have planned this attack beforehand," Davis said apologetically, "And ironically he captured the one DigiDestined with a Champion level Digimon as her partner!"

"It's not your fault Davis," TK said, "You tried the best you could to keep us safely together."

"And as we can see that still wasn't enough, though part of me did expect something to happen," Davis remarked before he went over to Yolei and knelt down in front of her while she was still crying.

"Miyako," Davis said, using her real name to grab her attention as he placed a reassuring hand on her left shoulder, "Please listen to me, Miyako."

Yolei eventually stopped sobbing as she looked up at Davis as he looked her straight in the eyes.

"I understand that you're scared and you have every right to be," Davis consoled and then beseeched, "As the leader I take full responsibility for what happened here and why Kari went missing. But right now, I need you to be strong and believe that we'll make things right again. Please, believe that everything will be alright before the day is over. I promise you."

"How can we possibility make things right again?" Yolei sobbed. Davis gave her a reassuring smile and said, "When we were chosen to become DigiDestined, we accepted the dangers and the risks that came with it. But that doesn't mean that when things don't go our way that all hope is lost," Davis looked over at TK, "Isn't that right TK?"

"Without a doubt!" TK agreed "We can't lose hope now after coming this far!"

"So in line with TK's words," Davis said as he turned back to look at Yolei, "Don't lose hope now and have faith that Kari and Gatomon will be in good health. We'll make things right! OK?"

Yolei gave a small smile and nodded her head. Sora was happy that Davis was able to calm the girl down. Davis stood back up and pulled Yolei up off the floor.

"So you say Kari and Gatomon fell into that ravine and vanished from there?" Davis inquired.

"Drimogemon appeared deep from within the crater and dragged both Kari and Gatomon down with him," TK explained having eye witnessed what happened, "I'm sure it was under the control of the Digimon Emperor."

"I understand," Davis said before turning to his partner, "Raidramon!"

The black armored dragon Digimon walked over to Davis as TK came to realize something.

"Wait a minute!" TK exclaimed in realization, "Is that Veemon? But he armor digivolved to Flamedramon the other day!"

"Yeah," Davis confessed, "I neglected to mention that I found the digi-egg of Friendship four years ago."

"You what!?" TK shouted in disbelief.

"You mean that cute little blue Digimon you had changed into that powerful beast!?" Yolei realized as she pointed to the black armored dragon.

"I'm glad to see that you remember me," Raidramon snickered, "Still I prefer not to be thought of as a beast."

"Guys we're wasting time," Davis replied seriously, "We won't accomplish much by standing around here. Let's head to the temple and retrieve those digi-eggs."

"What about Kari?" TK asked with concern.

"We will rescue Kari!" Davis assured, "But we're best to get those digi-eggs first. I'm certain that they will come in handy against the Digimon Emperor and in rescuing Kari. We don't know how many more Digimon the Digimon Emperor has under his control and it would be foolish to rush in to rescue Kari with no plan or extra fighting power to back us up."

"Davis is right," Izzy agreed, "Although we have Raidramon, it's still not enough to go up against whatever army that could be waiting for us. Let's get those digi-eggs like Davis suggested and see how they can be utilized in battling the Digimon Emperor."

"If you believe that then I'll trust your judgment Davis," TK said. The others nodded their heads in agreement hurried on their way to the first temple. Davis led the way to the temple with the others following close by. Arriving at the base of the temple the group made their way up a flight of stone stairs and entered chamber that looked like an ancient shrine left in ruins. In front of the group deep inside the chamber were two digi-eggs resting on two separate stone alters.

"It's the digi-eggs of Love and Knowledge," Sora said while pointing out the obvious.

"That's right," Davis said, "I want both you and Izzy to try and retrieve them from their resting places quickly."

Izzy and Sora hurried over to the digi-eggs and attempted to lift them up, but that was a task they couldn't carry out since it felt like they were trying to lift up an immovable boulder.

"They won't budge!" Izzy stated.

"We can't lift them up," Sora said. Davis turned to Yolei and Cody, "Cody, Yolei, I'm going to need you both to try and lift up those digi-eggs in Izzy's and Sora's places."

"You think we can do it?" Cody asked.

"Hurry and find out!" Davis instructed. Cody went over to Izzy while Yolei hurried over to where Sora was. The two older DigiDestined stepped to the side and allowed the younger two to step forward in front of the alters. Taking hold of the digi-eggs, Yolei and Cody easily lift the digi-eggs off their resting spots.

"They managed to lift up the two digi-eggs," TK announced. And as soon as that proclamation was made, two beams of light came from out of the top of the alters that the digi-eggs were once sitting on.

"Something is happening!" Sora said as she and the others look to see two Digimon appear and materialize from out of the light. The two Digimon opened their eyes as the light fields they were in faded out. The first was a small bird looking Digimon that was mostly red but was white from the neck up and had a feather sticking up from a band he wore around his head like an Indian used to. The second Digimon was yellow and stood on all fours and resembled an armadillo greatly except it's shell looked like it were made of some type of metal and also had some covering his legs. The two Digimon looked at the ones who freed them. The hawk Digimon greeted, "Thanks for freeing us. We've being waiting a long time for you both to free and awaken us."

"Who are you guys?" Yolei asked.

"I'm Hawkmon," the feathered Digimon introduced.

"And I'm Armadillomon," the second Digimon revealed in a cowboy sounding tone.

"And since you both removed those digi-eggs, that means that we're your Digimon partners," Hawkmon said.

"Wow! We finally have Digimon partners," Yolei cheered happily with clasped hands.

"I'm looking forwards to working side-by-side with you Armadillomon," Cody said politely.

"Guys as much as I'd love for us to continue the introductions," Davis interjected and reminded, "We still have a fellow DigiDestined and Digimon to rescue."

"Well this is certainly something, awake for 2 minutes and already two of our own are in danger?" Hawkmon inquired and said, "We'll be happy to give you our assistance!"

"I'm ready for whatever, after sleeping for so long I'm itching for a fight," Armadillomon remarked.

"First off let's head outside and see what armor digivolutions you both have," Davis suggested, "That way we can come up with a plan on finding and rescuing Kari and Gatomon."

"Good idea," Hawkmon agreed before he flew off the alter with Armadillomon jumping off his. The gang hurried out of the temple and down the flight of stairs until they were back on the surface.

Turning to Yolei and Cody, Davis instructed, "Yolei, Cody, hold up your respective digi-eggs and yell out "Digi-armor energize"."

The duo nodded their head and did as instructed, "Digi-armor Energize!"

The digi-egg in Yolei's hand glowed a metallic pinkish red while Cody's glowed in metallic yellow color. Hawkmon started glowing in corresponding color to Yolei's glowing digi-egg and Armadillomon glowed in a color responding to Cody's glowing digi-egg.

"Hawkmon armor-digivolve to…Halsemon, The Wings of Love!"

Hawkmon's new form was an older and quadruped looking form that had an enlarged version of the digi-egg of love over his head as a helmet but the wing extensions were much larger and longer like blades and had Hawkmon's arms sticking out from his shoulders as he were wearing a skinned suit.

"Armadillomon armor-digivolve to…Digmon, The Drills of Knowledge!"

The now revealed Digmon was a tall insect covered in full body armor. He had four arms, two which acted as his main pair with large drills attached at the end and a second shorter pair that looked like black claws. He had short insect wings sticking out from his back and had another large drill for a nose.

"Prodigious!" Izzy remarked, "So this is armor digivolution!"

"Did you expect anything less?" Davis replied.

"Halsemon?" Yolei asked while looking at her transformed partner with fascination, "I can't wait to see you in action!"

"And I'm Digmon," the yellow armored insect type Digimon, "An earth drilling Digimon with an attitude."

"Wow!" Cody marveled in amazement, "I'm looking forward to working alongside you!"

"Good!" Davis said, "Because we're going to need Digmon to perform a task for us. Digmon can we rely on your digging ingenuity?"

"Does a fish swim in water?" Digmon stated with confidence as he spun one of his drills for a second.

"Terrific!" Davis replied before leading Digmon where Kari was said to be last seen, "Digmon, can you trace and track where Kari and Gatomon were taken when the ground opened from underneath them?"

"Leave it to me!" Digmon complied before leaping into the darkness of the chasm with his drills spinning and ready to go to work.

"Halsemon," Davis instructed, "I'm going to need you to fly us down into the chasm-"

"What!?" Yolei asked with concern, "You want us to descend into that dark pit?"

"We have to Yolei," Davis stated, "If we're going to rescue and get Kari and Gatomon back then we need to follow Digmon as he traces and tracks down where Drimogemon went with them. It'll be harder to find them if we try to go by another way."

"He's right Yolei," Izzy agreed, "As risky as it looks, this is the best option to find our friends faster. And considering Drimogemon's huge size, the tunnels he'd make and burrow through will be big enough for us to travel through. I say we go along with Davis' idea."

"Do you trust me Yolei?" Davis asked.

Despite her fear of the unknown below the pit, Yolei nodded her head and said, "I trust you."

* * *

(Meanwhile At An Unknown Location)

Kari slowly opened her eyes, trying to adjust them to the light. She felt dizzy and partly disoriented before her head started readjusted itself. The last thing she remembered was her and Gatomon being taken by Drimogemon and then everything was a black. As she finally managed to open her eyes, they shot wide open with shock. In front of her was the unmistakable view of a large valley. She tried to move but noticed that her arms and legs were restrained and locked to a cliff wall. She looked around but couldn't see anything else other than rocks and clouds. She had been stuck to a cliff wall with her arms and legs held to the rocky wall by metallic restraints. If she fell, she would meet a certain death at the bottom of the valley. Looking down, she couldn't even see the bottom of it, but only darkness.

Just then, an overly conceited voice sounded from somewhere above her, "Look who is finally awake!"

Kari looked above her across to the other side of the canyon to see a boy no doubt the same age as Davis dressed in purple, a cape and sun glasses standing on top of the canyon. The said boy had a sinister smile on his face.

"And who are you?" Kari asked.

"Where are your manners young lady?" Ken replied, "You should know proper behavior when addressing someone of my stature as the Digimon Emperor."

"It's you!" Kari spat, "You're the one responsible for everything that's been happening in the Digital World! But you're a kid just like me!"

"I'm far from being just a kid like you Kari," Ken remarked.

"How do you know my name?" Kari asked.

"I kept tabs on Davis, but in doing so I learned some things about you too and how much Davis really means to you," Ken stated, "It's amusing watching someone as naïve and ignorant like you put some much confidence and affections into one expendable human."

"Why are you doing this!?" Kari asked.

"Why you ask," Ken replied and answered, "Because I wish to bring order to the Digital World…My order!"

"But you're DigiDestined like me!" Kari retorted, "No doubt you were chosen to protect the Digital World, not enslave it!"

"I used to believe that. But then I saw that this world needs someone with an iron fist and the "know how" to ensure order and control among its inhabitants," Ken replied and then stated, "And who other than me to see to it that it's done? Oh and if you're expecting your feline friend to save you…"

A hatch from the wall on the canyon Ken was standing on opened and turned around, revealing Gatomon detained and held up against the rocked wall with reinforced metallic restraints.

"Gatomon!" Kari cried out to her partner. The feline Digimon looked to her partner and said, "Kari! Are you alright?"

"I will be once we find a way to get free and escape from here," Kari replied.

"There'll be no need for you both to try to free yourselves," Ken said, "And since you both hold Davis and Veemon in very high regards, I'm counting on them coming to rescue you both."

"So you're using us as bait!" Gatomon realized.

"Like any good hunter who knows how to exploit his target's weakness and lure him into a trap by means of it," Ken remarked confidently.

"What do you have against Davis?" Kari asked angrily, "What has he done for you to have such an extreme hate for him?"

"My personal reasons are just that," Ken answered, "Personal. I'm not obliged to explain anything to you."

"Do you have some kind of past with him?" Gatomon probed.

"It's interesting how you're asking about my past when I also know things about your past too," Ken taunted, "Like how you used to work for Myotismon who hurt, abused and beat you until you final submitted into become his once loyal pet."

Gatomon hissed venomously at Ken, bearing her fangs threateningly at him. Undeterred, Ken continued, "But I have no need for such primitive tactics like his. I noticed that you lost your precious golden tail ring you once wore around your tail. I'd be more than happy to replace that precious ring of yours with one of my own dark rings. I'll even custom make it and snap it on your tail myself."

"Stay away from Gatomon!" Kari yelled out. Ken looked over at Kari and said, "You're in no position to make demands out of me girl. Your role here is to serve as a means in helping me bring about Davis' downfall."

"You're even crazier than I took you for if you think I would lift a finger to help you," Kari spat and declared, "Davis will stop you! We'll all be there with him to stop you!"

"Say what you will Kari," Ken said with an arctic tone, "But when Davis arrives here, I'll give you a front row seat so you can have the pleasure of watching him die."

Ken walked off from the captured pair and left they with their thoughts and worries.

* * *

(Meanwhile)

Davis and the rest of the group found themselves standing on the surface outside the opening what a rocky hill where Drimogemon dug from out of.

"We're back on the surface thank God for that," Sora remarked.

"I couldn't agree more," Yolei chimed in.

"C'mon people, we're not out of the hills yet," Davis said, "Drimogemon came through here, so let's continue our search."

Davis straddled himself on Raidramon's back and extended him hand to Sora.

"Climb aboard with me," Davis offered, "Biyomon still can't digivolve and we don't know how far Drimogemon took Kari from here."

Sora nodded and took Davis' hand and boarded Raidramon while sitting behind Davis. Yolei frowned at the sight, feeling a little jealous that Sora would get to ride with Davis. But she pushed that emotion down seeing the seriousness of the situation. Digmon, picked up Cody and TK while, Izzy got onboard Halsemon with Yolei. Biyomon, Tentomon and Patamon were able to fly so they were OK.

"Let's ride!" Davis shouted enthusiastically as he thrust his right fist into the air. Sora wrapped her arms around Davis' waist and held him tightly just before Raidramon started galloping with vigor and zest through the rocky ravine. Davis couldn't help but blush a little while feeling Sora hold him so close though it was just to ensure that she stays aboard Raidramon and not fall off.

 _'Damn hormones!'_ Davis thought privately to himself before getting his mind together and back in focus on more important things. With Davis taking the lead, Digmon followed from behind and Halsemon, along with Biyomon, Tentomon and Patamon followed through the air. For the next fifteen minutes, the group traveled through the rocky terrain until Davis saw a Digimon flying through the air with a dark ring around its waist.

"Up there!" Davis said pointing to the skies, "It's a Kuwagamon!"

"And it has a dark ring around its waist!" Izzy acknowledged.

"Let's follow it!" Davis suggested, "It might take us to where Kari is being held captive!"

Following Davis' lead, the group chased after the Kuwagamon until they saw it soar downwards up ahead of them pass two hills that blocked their view as a result of the narrow rocky passage the hills formed. When they reached through the rocky passage, they quickly stopped and back away back into the passage to keep out of sight. What led them to do this was that they saw a glimpse of the small army of Digimon consisting of ten Snimon, seven Kuwagamon, eleven Flymon and the same Drimogemon from earlier standing around the canyon with the Digimon Emperor nowhere to be seen. The group hid behind the hill so as not to seen. Davis dismounted from Raidramon and quiet went over to peek around the passage opening. TK, Cody and Izzy follow while the rest of the crew stay behind.

"It looks like they're waiting to ambush us," Davis noted.

"It's quite a team the Digimon Emperor assembled in order to do so," TK said.

"They're going to be a handful for us," Patamon commented.

"That's an understatement," TK replied.

"Izzy?" Davis asked, "Can you have Tentomon sneak around and see what's possibly within that canyon?"

"Why is that?" Cody asked.

"In case there's a trap or another ambush awaiting us within that canyon," Davis reasoned, "Who's to say that those Digimon upfront are the only line of offense we'll have to face?"

"Point taken," Cody remarked.

"Are you up to the task buddy?" Izzy asked his Digimon partner.

"As I'll ever be," Tentomon said before flying off to the highest part of the hill away from where the gang were. Tentomon made sure to remain in the shadows so as to not get caught. He quickly then flew from boulder to boulder on top of the hill while getting closer to the far end of the canyon without getting spotted. When reached his destination, from a distance, he saw Kari and Gatomon being detained and held up against the canyon walls. Tentomon quickly went back to the others were what he found out.

"So what did you discover?" Davis asked.

"Kari and Gatomon are on the canyon," Tentomon explained, "They're being held up against the canyon's walls facing each other over what looked like a bottomless pit."

 _'Sounds a lot like what happened to me and Veemon during our first original adventures in the DigiWorld,'_ Davis privately thought and asked, "Did you see Drimogemon within that canyon?"

"He wasn't anywhere to be seen, he must be hiding somewhere underground." Tentomon confirmed.

"So what now?" Biyomon asked as she and the rest of the group joined in.

"Now we come up with a plan to rescue Kari and Gatomon, and escape with as little injuries as possible," Davis said.

"What do you have in mind?" Yolei inquired.

"You and I will have Raidramon and Halsemon take on and distract those Digimon upfront. While we're doing that, Tentomon will lead Cody, Digmon and Izzy to where he saw Kari and Gatomon and have Digmon tunnel his way to where our two friends are and retrieve them."

"What about us," Biyomon asked, referring to herself and Patamon.

"You guys, Sora and TK can serve our surveillance and keep a look out for any incoming surprise attacks that might come from our rear," Davis said. The rookie Digimon nodded their heads in agreement.

"Sounds like a plan," TK said, "Let's hope it works."

"Hoping is clearly your greatest strengthen TK," Davis remarked, causing TK to frown since he didn't know if Davis meant that in sincerity or to be mocking. Davis mounted Raidramon and then turned to Yolei who was still on Halsemon.

"You ready?" Davis asked.

"We got your back Davis!" Yolei said confidently with her right fist out to him. Davis grinned and turned to Cody.

"We'll take care of things from our end," Cody said reassuringly.

"Then let's do this!" Davis said as everyone get ready to put his plan into action. Raidramon rushed through the passage way and charged at the awaiting Digimon with Halsemon flying in from behind. The ten Snimon, seven Kuwagamon and eleven Flymon turned to see the two DigiDestined charging at them with their armored Digimon partners. Before they could attack the opposing duo…

 **"Thunderbolt!"** Raidramon roared before he fired a bolt of lightning from his mouth and straight at one of the Snimon who was blasted into one of his fellow Snimon. This was follow up with…

 **"Mach Impulse!"** Halsemon yelled out before releasing blades of pressurized wind from the wings on his helmet to slash into two of the Kuwagamon there. The rest of the Digimon with dark rings around that weren't hurt rushed in at the opposing duo.

"Stay close to me Yolei!" Davis instructed, "Don't disappear out of my sight!"

"It's not like these Digimon will give us much of a choice to leave anyway, even if I wanted to!" Yolei replied.

"Would you really leave your study partner to fend for himself?" Davis asked.

"Not even if you told me to!" Yolei answered as the heated battle between them and the other Digimon commenced. The cliff quickly turned chaotic but Davis' experience in dealing with situations like this one helped him navigate around the army of enemy Digimon as Halsemon and Yolei followed his lead.

 **"Twin Sickles!"** came one of Snimon's attack, as he sent two red waves of cutting energy through the air towards Davis and Raidramon. Raidramon narrowly evaded the attack and charged at the offending Digmon.

 **"Electric Bite,"** Raidramon growled loudly as he leaped up and snapped at the Snimon's pincer with his electrically-charged jaws. The Snimon cried out in pain as it received a high voltage electric shock from the black armored dragon Digimon, which overloaded the dark ring around it and burst it apart. That left four more of the Snimon to go.

 **"Eagle Eye!"** Halsemon shouted at he fired glowing energy arrows from his eyes to smite and paralyze the three Flymon that were coming at him and Yolei. Halsemon followed this up with…

 **"Mach Impulse!"** Halsemon called out and again released blades of pressurized wind from the wings on his helmet to slash at the paralyzed Flymon, destroying the dark rings around them in the process.

 **"Blue Thunder!"** Rairamon yelled as he fired a powerful electric shock from the three protuberances on its back and over to two Kuwagamon and another Snimon. A moment later, the ground shook from underneath them and out came Drimogemon. It roared menacingly at Davis and Yolei, ready to fight.

"Just what we need at this time," Raidramon remarked with annoyance at the sight of the mole type Digimon.

"What is that?!" Yolei asked.

"That's Drimogemon!" Halsemon identified.

 **"Drill Spin!"** Drimogemon roared before having his large drill on its snout spin profusely and ram in Davis' and Yolei's direction. Raidramon and Halsemon quickly moved out of the way before Drimogemon's attack could harm either Davis or Yolei.

* * *

(Meanwhile)

As the battle was going on, elsewhere Digmon was busy tunneling his way to where Kari was with Cody, Izzy and Tentomon following him from behind.

"Are we getting closer to where Kari is?" Cody asked.

"It shouldn't be too far now!" Digmon replied, "We should be there in another five yards."

"Let's keep moving," Izzy said, "I don't know for how long Davis and Yolei can keep those Digimon occupied before possible enemy reinforcements comes their way."

Digmon continued digging and plowing through the rock and gravel as fast as he could. Meanwhile Kari and Gatomon were hearing loud noise of a fierce battle taking place high above them from the surface of the cliff. The booming sounds of explosions and energy blasts echoed through the canyon walls.

"I wish I knew exactly what's happening up there!" Gatomon commented.

"Davis and the others coming to our rescue I'm counting on," Kari replied, "I just hope it doesn't end with the Digimon Emperor holding true to his words in killing Davis in the process."

"Millenniummon failed to kill Davis twice and he was a powerful Mega Digimon," Gatomon remarked, "I'm sure Davis will pull some kind of miracle any second now."

And right after saying that, a large oval section of wall exploded eight feet from Kari's right side. With the explosion cleared, Digmon appeared from out of it and floated over to Kari before he looked her at eye level. Kari tensed for a briefly at the sight of the unknown Digimon, but when she noticed that the armored insectoid didn't have a dark ring on him, she calmed herself down a bit.

"Hi! The name's Digmon, an active member of the welcome wagon Davis sent to rescue you. I hope you don't mind me freeing you from those shackles though you're more than welcome to keep them as souvenirs afterwards," Digmon said with a slight hint of humor in his voice.

 _'He reminds me of Joe's partner Gomamon with the jokes he makes in the midst of a crisis,'_ Kari thought with a sweat-drop expression.

"No thanks. I'd rather not have reminders of this place," Kari replied as Digmon nodded and proceeded to remove the shackles using his drills. After freeing and holding onto her securely, Digmon floated over to Gatomon and quickly freed her also. Having both females freed, Digmon floated back to the opening of the tunnel he made where Cody, Izzy and Tentomon were waiting.

"Way to go Digmon!" Cody cheered proudly.

"All in a day's service partner," Digmon said before setting Kari and Gatomon down on their feet.

"Partner?" Kari repeated and asked, "This Digimon is your partner Cody?"

"That's right," Cody confirmed, "I freed him from the digi-egg of Knowledge he was sealed under as Armadillomon in that temple we were heading to. Under Davis' instructions, I used the digi-egg to armor digivolve Armadillomon into Digmon."

"Speaking of Davis, let's hurry back to him and the others," Izzy suggested, "They might need our help!"

The group quickly ran through the tunnel and returned back to the surface.

* * *

(All The While)

"We could use some extra fire power right now!" Yolei said after she and Halsemon dodged another attack from Drimogemon, "I don't know for how much longer we can take this!"

"If everything works out as I planned, things will tip over into our favor before this battle ends!" Davis replied.

"Davis behind you!" TK and Sora shouted urgently when they saw a Snimon rushing to impale and kill Davis with its pincers.

 **"Twin Sickles!"** Snimon yelled as he fired his attack at Raidramon. Raidramon barely had time to evade the attack as Davis was knocked off Raidramon's back. Snimon moved in after Davis in the attempt to finish him off.

"Davis!" Raidramon called in urgency after seeing the insectoid Digimon pursue his human partner. While on the ground, Davis, thinking fast, rolled out of the way just before Snimon plunged one of its pincers into the ground in spot his exposed chest would have been. He had to roll and dodge Snimon sharp pincers several times to avoid being stabbed fatally and torn apart, but the seventh attempt from Snimon managed to graze Davis' left arm. While ignoring the searing pain he felt from his left arm, Davis bent his legs back and forward kicked to bring himself back on his feet.

"DAVIS LOOK OUT!" Yolei screamed in a terror when she saw the same Snimon rushing quickly to swing his right pincer at Davis' head in an effort to decapitate him.

 **"Electric Bite!"** Raidramon roared as he dashed in and viciously snapped at the Snimon's offending pincer with his electrically-charged jaws. The Snimon painfully cried out as it was shocked with high voltage. Raidramon noticed the injury on Davis' left arm from Snimon's attempt to stab him with its pincer, which served to heighten his rage. The black armored dragon, while still holding on to Snimon with his jaw, fiercely threw the Digimon away from him and into a large boulder, adding additional injuries to the insectoid Digimon.

Taking his D3 out, Davis reverted Raidramon back to Veemon and shouted, "Veemon, we're switching gears! Digi-armor Energize!"

"Veemon armor digivolve to… Flamedramon, the fire of Courage!"

"Flamedramon! Fry them!" Davis commanded.

"Consider them cremated!" Flamedramon stated and commencing firing, **"Fire Rocket!"**

Flamedramon covered himself in an intense aura of flames and raced after the Snimon that attacked them earlier. The fire dragon Digimon body crashed into the offending Digimon and while that Digimon was down, Flamedramon fiercely attacked and beat it down.

"No one hurts Davis!" Flamedramon growled with righteous rage, **"Flaming Fist!"** Flamedramon roared out before he thrusted his fire covered armored right fist into Snimon, destroying the dark ring on that insectoid Digimon in the process and knocking the battered and burned Snimon unconscious.

Flamedramon turned to the remaining Digimon with a grisly rage that made him look feral, which made the TK, Sora, Patamon and Biyomon look worried. Flamedramon charged in and continued fighting the remain Digimon with extra fire power his anger managed to summon up. When Yolei hurried over to help Davis, she saw why Flamedramon was so furious.

"Davis your arm!" Yolei cried out in a panic after seeing the jacket sleeve of Davis' left arm cut open and covered in some of Davis blood.

"Yes I know," Davis replied calmly while gritting his teeth a bit from the painful stinging sensation he felt, "It's a small flesh wound."

"But you're hurt!" Yolei said with alarm and concern, "You need medical attention!"

"I'll manage for now," Davis said, "Besides we still don't know how the others are holding up from their end so in the meantime we have to keep these problematic Digimon at bay!"

"Get on!" Yolei advised as she reached her hand out to him. Accepting, Davis took Yolei's hand and got on board Halsemon's back with Yolei in front of him. He wrapped his arms around her waist to keep from fall off as Halsemon resumed moving and fighting again.

 **"Bone Crusher!"** Drimogemon called out as he charged at Yolei and Davis, through Davis was actually his primary target. Halsemon managed to dodge the attack as he made some distance between himself and Drimogemon. But the mole Digimon could attack again…

 **"Gold Rush!"** Digmon shouted as he launched rocket drills into Drimogemon's direction from behind. The mole Digimon cried out in pain as he felt the collisions of armored Digimon's attacks directly on his back and were the dark ring was. The dark ring, disintegrated into digital dust off of Drimogemon, freeing him from the Digimon Emperor's control.

"There's no need to fear!" Digmon sang, "The mighty Digmon is here!"

Davis and Yolei looked to see that Kari and Gatomon were rescued and back in their company.

"It's about time you guys came back!" Yolei shouted, "Mind giving us some extra fire power now!?"

"My pleasure!" Digmon said as he and Gatomon charged in to aid Flamedramon and Halsemon take out the remaining forces.

"Yolei," Halsemon advised, "It would be best if both you and Davis return to where the others are while I battle the remaining Digimon with our friends."

Yolei nodded before she and Davis dismounted off Halsemon and made their way back to the others. When they arrived, Kari quickly saw the wound on Davis's arm.

"Davis what happened to you!" Kari cried in panic and worry. TK, Izzy and Sora saw the fresh cut on Davis left arm.

"One of the Snimon wanted to make his point about wanting to do me in," Davis replied, "Other than that, I'm fine. Besides I've had worse than this."

Again, Davis came close to death and yet he was able to stay so calm and composed despite the seriousness of the situation.

"You're receiving medical attention when this is all over!" Kari stated.

"After the mission is accomplished Kari!" Davis replied, "We just need the last remaining Digimon under the Digimon Emperor's control dealt with first so we don't have more problems later when we leave here for the other temple to retrieve those digi-eggs."

"You still want us to go after the other digi-eggs in spite of the fact that you're wounded?!" TK asked in disbelief, "You can't be serious!"

Rather than retorting, Davis removed his jacket and raised the sleeve where the wound was. When the others saw his arm, they saw that the wound wasn't as critical as they originally thought it was as Snimon's attack look more like a cut with a knife. Though Davis still felt the stinging pain from the cut, he decided to deal with it in the best way he temporarily could. He removed an old headband he kept in his jacket.

"Kari," Davis requested, "Would you be so kind as to tie this tightly around my bleeding arm as a makeshift bandage?"

Kari nodded her head and took the headband from him. She tied it around area of his arm that had the cut before he placed his jacket back on.

"Thanks," Davis said, "That should hold me up until we return back to the Real World where I can use a first aid kit to clean and treat the injury."

 **"Tempest Wing!"** Halsemon yelled out before he spun around, creating a tornado with which he used to attack his the last remaining Kuwagamon and Flymon. The attack also helped destroy the dark rings around them also.

 **"Fire Rocket!"**

 **"Gold Rush!"**

Flamedramon's and Digmon's combined attacks took out Drimogemon and the last Snimon, destroying the dark rings on them in the process.

"Finally!" Flamedramon growled while panting a bit, "I didn't know how much more of a blazing beat down I had to dish out against these losers!"

Davis walked over to Flamedramon and said, "The battle was won and things went according to plan."

"Indeed it did Davis," a voice said from above them. Davis and everyone else looked up to see the Digimon Emperor riding on top of an Airdramon that had a dark ring around its stomach.

"You're more resourceful and vigilant than I gave you credit for Davis," Ken said with clear amusement, "I will admit that I underestimated your ingenuity in planning and acting things out. I will learn from this and the next time we meet I'll have a better strategy in dealing with you."

"I'm assuming that you're the Digimon Emperor," TK said as he and the rest of the DigiDestined and the other Digimon came out into the opening.

"That I am," Ken said while taking only a small glance at TK, "But I don't remember talking to you. My business is between Davis and myself, so stay out of this," Ken retorted as he was about to look back at Davis.

"You attacked me, my friends and teammates," TK shot back, "And you're attacking and enslaving innocent Digimon! So it's as much my business as everyone else's! We will put a stop to what you're doing!"

"Your presumptuousness in speaking in Davis' place will only take you far before you hit a dead end," Ken rebuked, "And like I said, I wasn't talking to you! So shut up!"

TK was about to retort when Davis raised his right hand and signaled TK to remain quiet and not to say another word. Reluctantly TK complied.

"It's good to see that you can put your teammate in his place Davis," Ken remarked, "But I won't be as merciful if he steps out of line again."

"I suppose asking you to stop what you're doing and free all of the Digimon you've enslaved is out of the question?" Davis replied with a tone that already said he knew the answer. Ken laughed manically and said, "You humor me Davis but this is far from over. You win this battle, so I'll let you live…at least for now."

"Why do you want to kill me!?" Davis asked loudly, "Do you see me as that great of a threat that you require my death for your own ends?!"

"We have an old score to settle Davis," Ken said with a sudden darker tone that went unnoticed, "My war with both you and Veemon from the past is far from over."

"Your war with me and Veemon from the past?" Davis asked with a confused expression, "What are you talking about?"

The other DigiDestined and the Digimon listening to Ken were just as interested in what he was talking about while wondering what kind of past Davis had with him.

"All things will be explained in good time to those wait," Ken said smugly, "Until then, goodbye for now Davis."

And with that, Airdramon flew off with the Digimon Emperor and leaving the group where they were.

"Should I go after him?" Halsemon offered as he could fly after him.

"No, you'd be the only one who could fly after him and there's no telling if the Digimon Emperor has other escorts hidden in the clouds," Davis rebuked the idea, "We won this time without suffering loses so we'll consider his escape as a minor issue for now."

"So my theory was right in that we have a DigiDestined who became corrupt and turned on the Digital World," Izzy stated with a grim expression.

"We saw it for ourselves though truly I wish you were wrong," Sora remarked sadly, "It's tragic that we have to fight against a fellow DigiDestined."

"The ambush at the temple and this whole attack was all about Davis and Veemon from the start," Kari spoke up.

"What do you mean?" Halsemon inquired.

"The Digimon Emperor did all this in order to goad Davis and Veemon into coming out and fighting so he could have him and Veemon ambushed and killed," Kari explained, "He told me this personally after he had me kidnapped."

"That praying mantis looking Digimon almost succeeded had it not been for Raidramon's fast timing after I warned Davis," Yolei said, "The Digimon Emperor is one serious psychopath!"

 _'Ken was never this dark and sinister the first time around,'_ Davis thought deeply and with confusion at what Ken said. _'Something must have happened to him to have made him much worse than he was before. Did my actions cause Oikawa to do something different to make Ken more evil or is this the result of something else?'_

Cody turned to Davis and asked, "Do you have any idea what kind of personal vendetta the Digimon Emperor has against you? What bothers me is that despite the fact that all of us were here to stop him, he only concerns himself with you Davis."

"The Digimon Emperor said that he had a past war with you and Veemon," TK stated and asked, "Was there a fierce battle between you and him long ago that you haven't mentioned to us Davis?"

"If there was such a war between him and myself long ago TK," Davis replied calmly, "I'd have explained it to you, Kari and Tai the first time I told you about my history in the Digital World. I'm just as lost as you and everyone else here in not understanding what the Digimon Emperor was talking about."

"Still," Yolei commented, "You must have done something extreme to make him hate you this badly."

"Of course," Davis remarked, "I'm doing to him the same thing I did against Millenniummon: I'm gathering and putting a team together to stop and end his reign of terror against the Digital World by whatever means necessary," Davis said, "And along the way, we'll make more allies who'll help us in our cause. Therefore, I'm not too concern about the threat against me."

"Always looking at the brighter side of things despite the dangers," Kari commented.

"It's one of the things that helps keep me sane," Davis said with a grin before he turned and started walking off to the passage way of the hills, "Now c'mon we still have those two other digi-eggs to retrieve before the day is out."

"But won't that temple be far from here?" Sora asked. Davis looked around the terrain and realized something about its locality.

"It's not that far from here actually," Davis said, "If we hurry, we can get there in a little over fifteen minutes."

"It's that close by?" Izzy asked. Davis turned to him and confirmed, "It is. It's where the digi-eggs of Light and Hope are. It would be in both TK's and Kari's interest to head there and see if they can retrieve those digi-eggs or not."

Hearing that statement aroused the said DigiDestined's interest as they followed Davis out of the area and to their next destination.

"Oh and by the way," Davis commented as he stopped and turned to face the group, "For your first experience and battle here Yolei and Cody, you both handled yourself rather well and our teamwork dynamics were on point. Good job you guys and I'm confident that our team dynamics and strengthens will only improve as time progresses."

"Thanks Davis," Cody said appreciatively.

"You're pretty amazing yourself as team leader," Yolei complimented and asked, "But is your arm ok?"

"I'll managed until we get back to the Real World," Davis assured, "My injury wasn't anything serious though the pain still hurts like a bitc-"

"Language Davis!" Kari chastised with a frown. Davis snorted but complied with Kari's light reproof.

"Anyway," Davis continued, "Let's continue on our way to the next temple," Davis suggested as everyone now resumed their way to the next temple. Flamedramon made his way to walk next to Davis at his left and just as Yolei walked a little faster to reach and walk with Davis at his right side, Kari smoothly approached and took the spot Yolei was aiming to be at. Yolei shot Kari a glaring frown but kept quiet as to not make a scene, but their actions didn't go unnoticed by Sora or TK who saw the whole thing.

 _'It looks Kari isn't the only girl here who likes and is interested in Davis,'_ Sora observed, _'I wonder what will become of this developing love triangle.'_

The rest of the journey to the temple continued without incident as the group didn't encounter another ambush. The preceding path was a cave that the group had to walk through briefly before exiting it from the other side and coming across the path that led to destination. The temple itself resembled one designed and constructed by the Aztecs in South America.

"We're finally here!" Kari cheered happily.

"Well let's not stand here Kari, let's go inside!" TK said excitedly as he hurried up ahead of her and the rest of the group down the path. TK reached the flight of stairs with Patamon, Kari and Gatomon following close by.

 _'They really behave like children,'_ Davis thought to himself as he sighed to himself, _'Sometimes it's hard to believe that I used to act just like that.'_

"What are you thinking about?" Izzy asked after seeing the look on Davis' face.

"Nothing important," Davis replied, "C'mon, let's catch up with those two."

Davis and the rest of the group went up the flight of stairs and walked into the temple. Upon their arrival they saw Kari and TK taking a moment to catch their breaths.

"Had a nice run?" Davis joked, "I'm sure by now Kari you burned off a few calories."

"Ha ha, very funny Davis," Kari said dryly. Davis simply shrugged and then became serious, "Alright, all jokes aside. Now that we're here, I like both you and TK to see if you can lift up those digi-eggs."

"Do you suppose new Digimon will appear from underneath those digi-eggs?" TK asked.

"What do you mean?" Kari asked with a confused expression.

"Earlier when Yolei and Cody lifted the digi-eggs of Love and Knowledge," Tk explained, "Hawkmon and Armadillomon appeared from under the digi-eggs. I wonder if the same thing will happen here."

Kari suddenly looked to the digi-egg of Light with hesitation and asked, "Does that mean our partners are going to be replaced with new Digimon?"

TK suddenly stopped in mid step as he turned to Kari after hearing her question before turning to look at the digi-egg of Hope with hesitation as well.

"Don't think like that," Davis spoke up, getting their attention, "You don't know if that's even a possibility. Most of us have had our partners for a long time and I don't think whatever force that chose us as Digidestined would just toss our partners aside to replace them with other Digimon.

"Davis is right," Patamon encouraged, "Don't stop now!"

"Go ahead and try!" Gatomon insisted as she pointed to the digi-egg bearing the symbol of Light. Nodding to each other, TK and Kari went over to the two alters were there digi-eggs were and stood in front of the digi-eggs bearing the corresponding crests they once possessed. Taking a breath, Kari and TK reached out and took hold of the two digi-eggs and easily lifted them up.

"We did it!" Kari said happily, "We actually got digi-eggs of our own."

Tk's and Kari's digivices started glowing brightly before transforming into D3s.

"Prodigious!" Izzy exclaimed, "Their digivices changed into D3s!"

"Wow!" Sora remarked after she and the others saw the phenomenon for themselves.

"Clearly the Digital World still has needs for the roles you both possess as the bearers of Light and Hope," Davis noted, "And since no new Digimon appeared from under the digi-eggs it means that Patamon and Gatomon can armor digivolve with those digi-eggs."

"I wonder what I'll look like after armor digivolving," Gatomon said aloud after seeing the forms of the others and then idly wondered, _'Veemon turned into a cool looking beast and an awesome fighter. Hawkmon turned into a fierce bird while Armadillomon had turned into one lean, mean bug. I wonder if I'll turn into either a large cat or a new angel.'_

"Let's go and find out," Kari optioned.

"Good idea!" Davis agreed, "Let's head back outside and test Patamon's and Gatomon's armor digivolution."

Everyone turned to the exit and made their way back outside and down the flight of stairs. Once they got into a clear enough opening, Davis turned to Kari and TK and said, "You both have seen how I've done it before. So repeat the procedure in holding your digi-eggs up high and shout out "Digi-armor Energize"."

Kari and TK nodded their heads in understanding and turned to their Digimon partners.

"Digi-armor Energize!" Kari and TK shouted in unison before their respective digi-eggs started glowing brightly, Kari's was a pinkish white glow and TK was a yellowish brown glow. Gatomon and Patamon started glowing in the corresponding colors before their transformations started.

"Patamon armor digivolve to…Pegasusmon, Galloping Hope!"

Patamon's armored form resembled an actual Pegasus from legends. His body was yellow like his rookie form but was wearing golden colored armor on his body. He had 4 golden boots shaped like hooves on the bottom, with a tiny emerald near the top and a single small wing extending from the back of the top. He also had a golden chest plate that went over his upper stomach area and a golden helmet that covered his head completely except his eyes and his ears which looked Patamons own wings. His wings were large and a lighter shade of yellow.

"Gatomon armor digivolve to…Nefertimon, the Angel of Light!"

Gatomon's armored form was similar to Pegasusmon but quite different. While they were around the same size and had similar wings that's where the similarities ended. Nefertimon had the legs and body of a large cat, wore silver shin guards with a jeweled rubies on her front legs which didn't cover her enlarged gloved claws, she also wore a silver and gold colored chestplate but hers included shoulder guards and most noticeably of all she wore an Egyptian style looking mask that reminded Kari of a sphinx.

Kari and TK took a moment to look upon their transformed partners in awe. While Davis didn't look all that surprised, he gave them encouraging smile.

"Wow!" TK said, "Pegasusmon, it's like straight out of a Greek mythology."

"Well I'm as real as you can imagine," Pegasusmon replied while also looking himself over. It felt a bit strange to still be quadruped since he remembered how it felt to walk on 2 legs as Angemon and Magnaangemon.

"I'm looking forward to working with you in this form and seeing what you can do," TK said.

"I love the Egyptian touch your new form comes with," Kari complimented as she thought the face plate looked like something the wife of a pharaoh would wear to conceal her face.

"I'm sure you'll love more than that about me," Nefertimon replied while flexing her wings. She had definitely missed the ability to fly after losing the ability to turn into Angewomon.

"I know I do," Flamedramon boldly remarked with a toothy grin for everyone to hear. Despite herself, Nefertimon couldn't help but blush after hearing Flamedramon's honest and candid statement. Thankfully the blush didn't surface due to her mask accessory.

"Fla-Flamedramon!" Nefertimon stuttered with an embarrassed tone.

"Someone is trying to get some," Davis remarked mischievously under his breath.

"What was that?" Kari asked, having sworn she heard something perverted from Davis' mouth.

"Oh nothing!" Davis said quickly while changing the subject, "Anyway, we got everything we came for and survived our first conflict with the Digimon Emperor so let's get back to the Real World! C'mon Flamedramon let me change you into Raidramon so we can ride out of here!"

"Raidramon?" Kari asked with a confused tone.

"That's Veemon's lightning type armor form through use of my digi-egg of Friendship," Davis explained.

"You have another digi-egg besides the digi-egg of Courage?" Kari asked in surprise.

"That's right," Davis said, "And at the rate I'm going finding digi-eggs, I might as well look for the DigiWorld's first Easter Rabbitmon."

"Funny," Kari commented with a small smile. Davis made quick works changing Flamedramon back Veemon and then Raidramon. After the job was done, Davis straddled himself on Raidramon's back while Sora instinctively followed and boarded Raidramon from behind Davis. Digmon for his part carried both Cody and Izzy.

"It's alright if I ride with you back to the Digi-port right?" Sora asked.

"So long as Tai doesn't get the wrong idea and get jealous for taking you riding twice," Davis commented.

"Don't worry Davis I'll be sure to keep Tai from misunderstanding-" Sora suddenly stopped when she realized what Davis was saying and how she walked right into it. A hot blush appeared on her face when she saw the spot she put herself in.

"Now wait a minute!?" Sora said with the blush on her face, "How did you-"

"I've been keeping tabs and I have my sources," Davis replied with a grin.

"Really?" Sora replied before looking over at Kari suspiciously.

"Sora please," Kari remarked, "You and Tai were so obvious from day one. And Davis and I were waiting all this time to see who'd make the first move."

"You mean to tell me that you two were actually waiting all these years for Tai and I to hook up?" Sora asked in disbelief.

"Kari and I had high expectations and hopes for you two since you both have always been so close," Davis said, "And there's one other thing that Kari and I would like to know."

"This being?" Sora asked.

"Did you and my brother share your first kiss yet?" Kari asked boldly.

"That's none of your business!" Sora retorted with a darkened blush on her cheeks.

TK and the others were laughing and cracking up after the antics between Davis, Kari and Sora.

"Are they always like this when they're together?" TK asked.

"Davis has a sibling relationship with Sora," Izzy said thoughtfully, "They've known each other for quite a number of years."

"They're close like family?" TK asked in surprise as he watched how Davis interacted with Kari and Sora. And seeing how Yolei and Cody viewed him, it was clear to TK that Davis was well liked, respected and admired by both his peers and the other DigiDestined. Many in Davis' place would have bragged about their reputation and abilities, but TK saw that Davis never once gloated about any of his achievements or act like he was better than anyone else.

When Tai had chosen Davis as the new leader in his, Tai's place, part of TK wished that it was him who was chosen by Tai instead. But Tai's logic and reasons silenced all of TK's inquiries about why Davis was chosen in the first place. And after seeing the recent events involving Davis and the others in the Digital World for the past few days, TK had to admit to himself and respect that Davis knew how to handle himself as leader and how to deal with dangerous situations. Even when things didn't go as planned, TK saw how Davis was able to remain levelheaded and take control of the situation. In the end, everything worked out in the group's favor. When TK thought about it, he wasn't sure if he would have been able to handle such stress as leader under heavy pressure when others under his lead would have been panicking.

Despite all this however, there were only two things that really peeved and bothered TK: the first was that the Digimon Emperor had bad blood history with Davis, though Davis himself admitted that he doesn't know what the Digimon Emperor was talking about. But the very fact that the Digimon Emperor was serious about killing Davis was alarming.

The second thing though was more personal: it was the fact that Kari liked Davis a lot and was very protective of him. He saw firsthand how defensive and argumentative Kari became towards her older brother and the rest of the older DigiDestined when Davis was spoken of in a negative way. It was a side of Kari that TK had never seen before since she was always known as a caring, calm and thoughtful person.

When TK moved to Odaiba and started attending the same school as Kari, he thought that Kari would want to spend more of her time with him, hanging out with him, doing things with him. But those things didn't happen. Rather, Kari did and continued doing those things with Davis and if TK was honest with himself, he was actually jealous of Davis because of that. While TK knew that Kari had known Davis for the longest time, still, he couldn't help but feel jealous of the close bond they shared with each other.

"Are you alright TK?" Pegasusmon asked after seeing the look on his partner's face. TK snapped out of it before turning to his partner and said, "I'm fine. I just had a lot on my mind, that's all really."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Pegasusmon invited, "If it's not too much trouble that it."

TK sighed and replied, "…That's alright Pegasusmon. I'll be fine."

Pegasusmon didn't look convinced but he decided not to probe his partner on the matter. The group traveled back to the digi-port they originally came through and returned back to the Real World.

* * *

(Later That Evening)

Davis was in his bedroom sitting at his desk with his elbows on top of his desk and finger entwined hands holding his chin up. He was dressed dressed in his sleeping attire after cleaning and treating his injury with antiseptics and covering it with a clean bandage. All the while, DemiVeemon was sitting on Davis' bed staring at his partner who looked like he was deep in thought about something.

"Still wondering what could have made Ken worse now than he was before," DemiVeemon figured.

"That and wondering what new dangerous twists we're to expect now as a result," Davis answered, "I almost got decapitated by Snimon had it not been for you and Yolei today. And a few days before that it was Kari who warned me about that Monochromon that tried to burn me to a crisp. Ken was bad before but never murderous like now, especially towards me."

"Makes me wonder how Wormmon is coping with Ken's more sinister and darker version," DemiVeemon said with concern, "From what he told me in the past, Ken was cruel and physically abusive towards him after he become the Digimon Emperor."

"Let's hope that Wormmon is just as strong if not stronger in enduring his trial with this version of Ken until we can find a way to help and save Ken," Davis stated before his mobile phone went off. He picked up his mobile phone and answered into it saying, "This is Davis. What's up Kari?…Yeah my arm is fine, thank you very much…Yes I know, I won't overexert my arm or do anything to make it worse…OK, I'll see you tomorrow morning then…Goodnight Kari."

As Davis hung up his mobile phone, DemiVeemon asked, "Kari checking up on you?"

"She was," Davis said, "But I assure her that I'm fine."

Davis was about to say something when his phone went off again. He looked to see that it was Yolei calling him. He answered his opened and answered into his phone again, "Hey Yolei…Yeah I'm fine and dandy, thank you…I know, a lot of wild and adventurous things happened today but this is only the beginning…Don't worry, whatever dangers comes our way, we'll get through it. Count on that…Great! I'll see you tomorrow at school then, so get some rest…Goodnight Yolei."

As Davis hung up his phone again, DemiVeemon asked, "Yolei was checking up on you also, huh?"

"She was," Davis said, "I can't really blame her or Kari considering how crazy things were today."

"And it's going to get crazier and fierce no doubt," DemiVeemon remarked as if knowingly. Davis sighed and agreed, "…No doubt indeed."

"So let's be ready for what the new unwritten future has in store for us," DemiVeemon said confidently.

"This new unknown future won't wait till we're ready DemiVeemon," Davis remarked, "We'll just have to face what happens when it happens."

* * *

 **A lot happened all in one day with the group having seen how murderous the Digimon Emperor is in wanting Davis permanent done away with. The question is what was Digimon Emperor talking about in wanting to settle an old score with Davis and Veemon? What happened that made Ken want to kill Davis and Veemon? And will Veemon start assimilating other Digimon to get stronger? Find out next time.**

* * *

 **A/N: For those who didn't read my other Digimon fanfic called "Just Friends," you ought to read that fanfic in order to understand Davis' flashback since that short story was a prelude to this fanfic.**

 **And for those favoring and following this fanfic, please leave me your reviews and comments. I do appreciate constructive feedbacks. Thanks you.**


	6. Chapter Six: The Changes of Time

**Chapter Six: The Changes of Time**

* * *

 **(Two Weeks After The Yolei, Cody, TK and Kari Acquired Their Digi-Eggs)**

Davis, Kari, Yolei, Cody and TK were at a game and arcade store playing some video games. Cody was playing a game of air hockey against Yolei after she dragged him to it while Kari and TK were at a duo racing car game machine driving laps around the selected racing board as Kari already lost twice to TK so far. Davis for his part was watching their third game being played and occasionally he'd look at Cody and Yolei playing their game of air hockey.

 _'I feel like a man who took a group of kids out to play and enjoy themselves while supervising them,'_ Davis thought to himself as he saw that the third game between Kari and TK ended with TK as the winner again with Kari's car crashing into yet another pole.

"Ha!" TK cheered victoriously, "I win again Kari! That's three times in a row now!"

"I swear this game is rigged!" Kari replied with an annoyed pout at how she kept crashing.

"It's not the game that's rigged Kari," TK grinned, "It's my skills that are good."

 _'And Kari used to think I had a problem with modesty back then,'_ Davis snorted before stepping over to Kari.

"Hey Kari," Davis said, " _'Third time is the charm'_ as the old saying goes."

"Meaning what exactly?" Kari asked despite knowing that saying as well.

"It means that the charm is here and would like to challenge TK in your place," Davis clarified as he gestured to Kari to allow him to sit in the driving simulator.

"Believing yourself to be the charm Davis?" TK remarked with a cynical but challenging look, "Those are really bold words."

"I don't talk checks I can't cash TK," Davis replied with a competitive smile.

"You don't talk checks you can't cash?" Kari asked quizzically as she didn't recall ever hearing a saying like that before.

"In other words," Yolei clarified from the air hockey table after overhearing the conversation as she deflected a shot from Cody that nearly went into the goal, "Davis is saying that he doesn't say things without the ability to back up his words with action or proof. It's a twist to the saying _'You talk big but can you back it up'._ "

"Alright then," TK challenged, "Let's do this! You and me!"

Kari got up and allowed Davis to sit in her place. As Davis sat down in the driver's seat, he took a moment to recall an event in his past life when he met a particular person who stepped foot into one of his restaurants during his early days when his food business was beginning to gain major popularity. That person became one of Davis' good friends and best customers who also advertised for Davis' company. During that time, that man was Japan's legendary "SK" or Speed King, one of the most famous race car drivers in the country.

"Davis!" TK called out, "It's time to get ready!"

Davis' mind returned back to the present and blinked a few times.

"OK," Davis said, "I just took a moment to get my mind into the groove."

"Whatever you say," TK said as he and Davis slipped their game tokens into the machine to start the game up. TK selected the board to be played as they chose their vehicles. The tension started to build up as the countdown began. When the race started, both players drove out of the starting line with tires screeching.

"Get ready to eat my horse powered dust TK," Davis declared while slowly accelerating to higher speeds.

"Try not to crash and fall behind otherwise this won't be fun," TK fired back while stepping on the gas harder.

Yolei and Cody walked over as they finished their air hockey game which ended in Cody's victory when he used his Kendo skills to hit the puck with precision and accuracy. Yolei felt like that was cheating in a way but there was nothing in the rules about using fighting skills to win a game so she congratulated him like a good sport.

TK growled as he grabbed the stick shift with his left hand while keeping his right hand on the steering wheel and thought, _'He's still on my tail and gaining!'_

Kari, Yolei and Cody looked at Davis while wondering if he was for real or just being foolishly cocky as he had a smirk on his face. Within seconds he was speeding and cruising while making swift and polished turns at every corner and intersection. The speedometer on the screen showed how Davis was continuously picking up velocity and having no trouble catching up to TK who was only able to maintain a certain speed to avoid losing control and crashing.

"He's actually catching to TK!" Cody pointed out while seeing how fast Davis was going without losing control of his vehicle. TK saw that Davis was right behind his tail and increased his speed to create a larger gap between them. On seeing this, Davis grinned and stepped harder on the petal, causing the race car to accelerate at a more dangerous speed until he completely drove passed TK.

"He passed me!" TK shouted in disbelief as Davis just kept going without slowing down. Davis continued down the route and came to an S-curve. Smiling, Davis remembered and implemented a technique SK taught to him as he shifted gears on the clutch and stick shift, and drifted his car through the S-curve and through the upcoming ramp with a speed that looked like he was about the flip over and roll, but flip over and roll he didn't as he continued on course.

"Did Davis just do that?!" Yolei asked in amazement as that was like a stunt from a car chase.

"He drives like an experienced drift racer!" Kari marveled.

 _"No way!"_ TK thought in disbelief, _"I always have problems when it comes to that S-curve and ramp! I was certain Davis would have had the same if not an even worse problem with those parts than me!"  
_  
TK being distracted by Davis' feat nearly caused him to crash into an upcoming light pole. Fortunate for him he saw the pole and stepped on the brakes, causing the car to skid as it slowed enough for him to maneuver around the pole and back on course as he reached the S-curve. Meanwhile Davis drove passed the finish line and commenced his second lap at the same high speed he was driving with. As TK was doing everything to catch up with Davis, he ended up skidding against the side of the narrow S-curve.

"Darn it!" TK grumbled under his breath as he managed to get out of the S-curve and up the ramp. After passing the ramp TK started reaching the finish line. Soon he drove past it and began his second lap. TK was determined to catch up with Davis.

"TK is now starting his second lap," Cody pointed out.

"We can see that," Kari remarked, "But I don't think he can hope to win this race."

"What was that?" TK retorted, losing his focus again which cost him as he started skidding and spinning across the racing road.

"C'mon! Really!?" TK bemoaned as he made the effort to get back on track. After his finally did so, he resumed his driving down the racing route. As he was driving he saw a vehicle from the screen's rear view mirror approaching fast from behind him.

"What the?" TK said aloud as he recognized the spotted vehicle to be Davis' just before it drove right passed him, "Davis passed me again!" TK exclaimed in disbelief.

"I'm surprised you didn't notice that Davis started on his third lap soon after you started on your second one," Yolei stated. Davis said nothing as he just continued driving, his mind focus on his final destination for his last lap. TK knew he already lost the game but kept racing regardless. After nearly another two minutes, Davis passed the finish line and won the game with the highest score that topped TK's three earlier matches with Kari.

"The race is over!" Davis declared, "I win!"

"Yeah we can see that," TK uttered while getting off the driving seat.

"It's not the game that's rigged TK," Davis said while mockingly quoting TK's earlier words, "It's my skills that are good."

Kari and Yolei started laughing at how TK's own words were now used against him. TK frowned at his predicament and remarked, "Yeah, whatever."

"Let's hope that you don't drive like that when you try to get your license Davis, otherwise you'll get more than just a fine to pay " Cody remarked which earned a look from Davis.

 _'I was a skilled and good driver in the future and never got so much as a parking ticket or ran a red light Cody,'_ Davis privately thought.

"So chess isn't the only game you play, huh?" a familiar voice asked from behind the group, a voice Davis immediately recognized as turned to the voice. The group didn't see their leader's eyes widen for a moment before he calmed himself and turned as well. Everyone looked to see a boy Davis' age dressed in a soccer uniform that consisted of black shorts and a green shirt with dark sneakers standing by the entrance of the arcade store and looking at them with sharp eyes. Davis kept a calm demeanor, but his eyes maintained an alert gaze that was fixed on the newcomer.

"Ken Ichijouji," Davis said coolly and with a smile as he tried to keep up an appearance.

"Davis Motomiya, my long-time rival," Ken greeted respectfully while keeping his confident smile, "It's been a long time since we talked like this face to face."

 _'When you're not trying to kill me as the Digimon Emperor,'_ Davis thought aggravatingly while keeping his emotions in check, "Yes it's been quite a while. So what are you doing here?"

"My soccer team and I came from a game against another school in this town that we won against," Ken said, "Our coach decided to treat us out for a job well done and while my team and I were in the area I couldn't help but take notice through the windows that you were here…," Ken looked and turned to Yolei, "With this young lady hanging with you."

"Huh?" Yolei muttered while pointing to herself, "What? Me?"

"Yes you," Ken said with a sudden flirty and playful tone in his voice, "The cute one who's wearing my favorite color as her hair."

Davis suddenly blinked a few times after hearing what Ken just said, and thought, _'Is Ken actually flirting with Yolei!? He never originally did that when he was the Digimon Emperor in our first lives! And I'm surprised that Yolei isn't acting like a Ken-obsessed fangirl!'  
_  
"Cu-Cute one?" Yolei stuttered with a blush on her face. Kari giggled while look at the expression on Yolei's face.

 _'If Yolei and Ken actually hit it off,'_ Kari thought, ' _Then I won't have to worry about her posing as competition for Davis' heart anymore.'  
_  
"May I ask your name?" Ken asked.

"I'm Miyako Inoue but everyone called me Yolei," Yolei greeted politely.

"Yolei is it?" Ken said while testing the name, "Well, that's a pretty unique name for a girl with royal colored hair."

"Someone likes you Yolei," Kari teasingly whispered into Yolei's ear. Yolei was about to clarify and point out that it's Davis she likes when…

"So Davis," Ken turned to his rival, "Who are your other friends?"

Davis held back a frown and hard gaze at Ken's pretense but he knew that now was neither the time nor location to expose Ken as the Digimon Emperor.

"The blond next to me is TK, the young boy next to Yolei is Cody and the girl with the short chestnut hair is Kari," Davis answered.

"Kari you say?" Ken purposefully said as he turned to Kari and remarked, "You must be Davis' girlfriend."

"Da-Davis' g-girlfriend?" Kari stuttered as she blushed hotly at Ken's words though his words only served to deeply annoy both TK and Yolei while Cody had a look of indifference. Davis however was wondering what Ken was trying to start up and why he had approached him here.

 _'Is he just trying to unnerve me or does he have some ulterior motive for meeting the others?'_ Davis wondered.

"Actually Ken," TK spoke up, "Davis and Kari aren't a couple. They're just friends," TK then went over and stood next to Kari while Davis also took one step closer to her unconsciously.

"Really?" Ken asked as if doubtfully.

"Kari and I are long-time childhood friends Ken," Davis clarified respectfully, "We've known each other for the longest out of everyone here."

"Oh?" Ken remarked, "You both must share quite a history together I assume."

"We do," Kari confirmed, "Davis and I met in preschool and Davis became my best and dearest friend since," Kari said with a smile before she extended her hand, "It's an honor to meet the rival of my best friend."

Ken responded by extending his hand out to shake Kari's. However as soon as his hand came into contact, both he and Kari recoiled their hands back as they felt a shock through their skin. Kari visibly cringed while Ken for a fraction of a microsecond showed a scowl that went unnoticed even by Davis. The rest of the group who were looking on wondered what just happened.

"Sorry about that," Ken apologized while closing his hand, "I guess I had some built up static in my body."

"Could be," Kari replied while looking at her hand for a moment as that shock had felt strange to her. She had felt static shocks before but this felt different, it almost felt like she felt a chill go up her spine…was it just her imagination. Davis however was now suspicious as he got the feeling that wasn't static. He was familiar with Kari's crest of Light and how it conflicted with the forces of Darkness. Though he didn't see any signs of Kari's discomfort around Ken, the fact they both felt a shock when they shook hands made him wonder if her light was clashing with Ken for some reason. Or was it reacting against the powers of the dark ocean Ken's D3 was infused with? Did he even have it with him here?

Turning to Davis, Ken stated, "It's sweet that you have a friend like Kari who treasures you so dearly Davis."

"Kari values all of her friends Ken," Davis replied, "They're all dear to her."

"I can understand that," Ken said and countered, "But like she said, only you are her _best_ and _dearest_ friend. It's clear to me by her own words that you _really_ mean a lot to her."

Kari felt the hot blush return to her cheeks as her head lowered just a little from embarrassment at how Ken was reading between her words.

"Excuse me but Davis, Kari and Yolei aren't the only ones here," TK interjected as he kept his annoyance at Ken in check. Ken turned to TK and said, "Ah yes forgive me for that, I just tend to pay attention to those that stand out more."

"What's that supposed to mean?" TK questioned with slight irritation.

"Nothing just that I look for people I think are exceptionally smart or skilled. For a genius like me a worthy challenge is hard to come by," Ken said before his eyes went to Davis for a moment, "Until I met Davis that is. Since then, I've been wondering if there's anyone else who can be a worthy opponent so that when I defeat them I'll be more satisfied."

Ken then turned to the youngest of the group.

"Cody right?" Ken asked and the young boy nodded before Ken suddenly took a closer look at the youngster which made him uncomfortable, "I like the look in your eyes," Ken suddenly said, earning looks from the others at what he said.

"What?" Cody could only say as he was confused.

"The look in your eyes is of someone who's smarter and wiser than your age would suggest," Ken clarified before going deeper with his words, "They also seem hardened as if you went through something that made you grow up and mature faster. I wonder what could've caused that."

Cody suddenly felt unnerved as memories of his deceased father flashed through his mind for a moment before he blocked them out and looked down to the ground to hide how he was starting to feel.

"I'd rather not say," Cody replied with tone devoid of emotions.

"Ah a personal matter," Ken said with a sudden sympathizing tone that surprised Davis as he looked into his enemy's eyes and saw genuine emotions before they returned to their usual sharp look, "I won't pry into the matter and apologize if I brought something bad up."

"It's OK," Cody said as he raised his head to show that he was back to his usual neutral facial expression. Ken then turned to Yolei again with a gleam in his eyes, "Speaking of smarter than the age suggests you seem like you're a smart girl. I bet you know your way around a computer, am I right?" Ken asked although the way he said it made it seem like he already believed he was correct.

Yolei gave a nod while impressed by his guess, "Yeah I know some things about computers but I doubt it's as much as what you would know."

"Oh don't undermine yourself. I'm sure there must be one thing you know that I don't. But what that could be we will have to find out another time," Ken insisted.

"That reminds me," Yolei realized aloud before going to the air hockey table where her school backpack was and retrieving an editorial from it. Closing her backpack and going back to the others, she opened it and showed them the page that featured the recent academic and education status report. As Yolei showed Davis and the others the article, the group saw the academic rankings of Japan's top students.

"Rank 1: Daisuke (Davis) Motomiya 494 points," Kari pointed out, "Rank 2: Ken Ichijouji 491 points."

"In the last status report my points were 483," Ken recalled and added, "As you can see, I've been making progress in catching up to my long-time rival whom I want to surpass."

 _'And kill…with the help of the Dark Spore no doubt,'_ Davis thought before seeing Ken look over to Yolei. Ken remarked, "It's clear that you like to stay up-to-date on educational and academic affairs. I like that. Please continue that my royal color-haired maiden while keeping tabs on my steady rise to outmatch Davis."

"You certainly sound sure of yourself," Yolei remarked.

"I don't talk checks I can't cash," Ken replied. Yolei blinked and responded, "Funny. Davis said the same thing earlier."

" _Great minds think alike'_ is an old saying in my and Davis' case. However," Ken remarked before he looked into TK's direction, "I know some who talk bounced checks."

"What's that supposed to mean?" TK replied with a small scowl knowing Ken was implying something about him.

"That's twice you asked me the same question thus proving my point," Ken mocked.

"Excuse me?" TK retorted. Ken didn't dignify him with a response as he smiled and turned back to Yolei, "I hope I get to see you again, this small talk was enjoyable," Ken then turned to Davis and smirked, "And I look forward to the next time we cross paths in competition Davis. With the way things are going our soccer teams may end up playing each other someday."

Davis narrowed his eyes at Ken as he saw the hidden meaning of his first challenging words, "Something tells me we won't have to wait too long for that to happen."

"Perhaps not, anyway good day to all of you," Ken said before he left the arcade store and unknown to everyone, an evil grin emerged on his face as he thought, _'Enjoy it while it last Davis because your death is getting closer every day. Even if you survive our next encounter, the one after will have a higher fatality rate and so on until you meet your demise.'_

Meanwhile back inside the game and arcade store…

"What's Ken's problem Davis?" TK asked indignantly and continued, "Until today, I never met the guy and yet he acted like an absolute jerk towards me and he looked down on me!"

"Sounds like what you did when we first met," Davis replied, "Now you know how I felt."

"But at least I apologized," TK retorted.

 _'Only after I reprimanded you in front of Kari and you didn't want to lose face in front of her after she tried to cover for you,'_ Davis thought and said, "In any case, I don't know what you originally expected from someone who proclaimed himself as my rival."

"Better than what I saw if you ask me," TK remarked.

"More is yet to come I'll tell you that," Davis said, "Anyway, it's time for us to leave and head out home."

"Actually Davis," Yolei corrected, "I'm heading to your place today for our routine study session. Ken clearly has it in for you and it's also his goal to surpass you Davis," Yolei formed a flirtatious smile and continued, "Which means that as your caring study partner it's my job to help you maintain your ranking, which means we'll be having longer study sessions."

"Yolei," Kari remarked with a hint of annoyance in her tone, "The editorial showed that Davis on his own has been doing just fine maintaining his ranking at first place. Clearly, Davis has already put in place an effective study routine that works for him."

 _'And they're off,'_ Davis thought as he sighed lowly with Cody shaking his head sympathetically for Davis. TK frowned at the sight of Kari arguing with Yolei over who gets to spend more time being with Davis.

Seeing where Kari was going with this, Yolei countered smoothly and confidently, "Davis' score was 494 and I'm sure that with my help added to his study routine, he'll reach 500 or higher," Yolei then added, "Plus Davis' folks have already gotten used to me coming over on a regular basis so they're expecting my arrival soon."

"Funny you should say that," Kari countered with a sweet tone, "Since I was invited by Davis' mother personally to come by this evening so they're expecting my arrival also."

"You don't say," Yolei replied as she and Kari stared each other down. TK was about to intervene when…

"Kari, Yolei," Davis spoke up calmly, "We're making a scene here and losing precious time we won't get back if we all do is debate on my academic achievements and needs. While I appreciate the concern you both have for me however, I think it would be better if instead we discuss how we each can improve our own skills and levels of intelligence and do better the next time around. Can we agree on that before we head out on our way?"

Both girls nodded their heads in agreement.

"Fine by me," Yolei replied.

"No argument here," Kari said.

"Perfect," Davis smiled and suggested, "Now let's be on our way."

Cody looked on at the scene and thought, _'Davis handled that situation better than how I imagined him doing so. I wonder how things will turn out for him with Kari and Yolei coming over to his place.'_

TK didn't have much to say though he had much to think about as he and the group went and retrieved their school backpacks before making their way out of the arcade and game store. TK and Cody went home together since they live in the same direction while Davis, Kari and Yolei went together in the same direction to Davis' place, with Kari at his right side and Yolei at his left. The walk for the three of them was oddly quiet, until Kari decided to break the silence.

"Well Yolei," Kari said, "It's clear that you have an admirer who just so happens to be Davis' rival genius."

"Maybe," Yolei remarked, "But I see no reasons for me to try to pursue anything with him."

"And why not?" Kari asked, "We can tell he likes you by the way he was looking and talking to you. Plus, you're the only girl he complimented about your looks and skills. He obviously hopes to see you again too."

 _'Yeah,'_ Davis thought, ' _Only Yolei unknowingly won't like seeing him again as the Digimon Emperor.'_

"Kari," Yolei said, "Ken may look cute but-"

"Aha! So you do think he's cute!" Kari said cutting Yolei off.

"Damn it Kari! You didn't let me finish!" Yolei retorted, "I was saying that I'm not interested in Davis' rival!"

"Why don't you give him a chance," Kari suggested, "He might surprise you."

 _'You have no idea,'_ Davis thought.

"Kari quit trying to play matchmaker between me and Ken please!" Yolei replied with clear annoyance.

"Davis what's your opinion about this?" Kari asked in hopes of getting Davis on her side.

"My opinion in all this is for me to stay neutral in this girl talk subject both you and Yolei are having," Davis answered, "You can pretend I'm not even here."

"Smart answer Davis," Yolei cheered with a large grin.

"Traitor!" Kari snorted, "You helped me get my brother and Sora to hook up!"

"Actually Kari," Davis corrected, "Tai and Sora had chemistry and they already liked each other. It was just up to Tai to take the initiative to go after Sora before someone else did. Like I told you before, he didn't need me as his wingman, he just needed confidence in himself and a pair of balls."

"Davis!" Kari chastised with Yolei giggling at Davis' crude choice of words.

* * *

 **(Later On In The Digital World)**

It was approaching the later part of the afternoon as the sun was getting ready to start setting into the dusk. Regardless many of the Digimon were busy going about their daily routine. However, two Digimon in particular were doing something different outside what many would consider a daily routine. Veemon and Gatomon were traveling together through a barren and desolate part of the Digital World that hadn't been inhabited for many centuries. The landscape was filled with primitive looking stone houses and buildings in the region that were left completely in ruins and in disrepair.

"Tell me again Draco," Gatomon implored with displeasure, "How did you manage to talk me into coming here to this barren wasteland with you?"

"We're here looking for artifacts that could prove to be useful in helping me remember my forgotten past," Veemon said, "Plus I believe you agreed to accompany and spend the day with me after I promised to spoil you to some of my seafood dish specialties. You enjoyed how I prepared those blue fin tuna and salmon dishes the other day."

"I'm still amazed how superb a chef you are," Gatomon complimented while recalling the delectable tuna she ate, "You can rival Digitamamon with your cooking prowess."

 _'Davis and I both can actually,'_ Veemon privately thought, ' _I'm happy that like Davis, my cooking skills and training remained intact like everything else about me,'_ Veemon the replied, "I'm a Digimon of many talents Tigress."

 _'Tigress?'_ Gatomon repeated mentally to herself after hearing how Veemon addressed her by that name. It was clear to Gatomon that Veemon was looking to call her by an affectionate nickname other than her actually name.

"You're a Digimon with many talents?" Gatomon replied, "You're going have to prove that to me Draco."

Veemon stopped walking and turned to Gatomon with a toothy grin on his face as he remarked to her charismatically, "I'll happily prove to be more than that to you."

Gatomon found herself blushing at Veemon's confident and alluring manner of talking to her. She soon shook it off and remarked, "I'll believe it when I see it, Draco."

Veemon was undeterred by Gatomon's act of playing hard to get, considering the affectionate pet name she called him by.

"Time will come Tigress," Veemon replied, "C'mon, it's starting to get late so let's-"

Veemon stopped when he saw something from the corner of his right eye fly by from the air. He turned to see two dark colored dragon Digimon fly through the air.

"Heads up, two Digimon flying through the air!" Veemon pointed out for Gatomon to see.

"Those are Devidramon," Gatomon explained, "They're viral Champion dragon Digimon that used to be in the service of Myotismon. During my dark days serving under Myotsimon, I summoned a number of them to prevent the DigiDestined from pursuing us through the gate. They were never intended to defeat the DigiDestined, but only to delay them sufficiently.

"Notice anything missing on them?" Veemon pointed out to the feline Digimon who after a moment noticed what he was referring to.

"They don't have any dark rings on them," Gatomon noted after not seeing any of the Emperor's rings, "So whatever it is they're doing is of their own free will."

"Let's find out where they're heading," Veemon suggested before following the two flying Digimon with Gatomon following him close by. For the next ten minutes, Veemon and Gatomon trailed the two flying Devidramon that seem to be heading to a certain destination somewhere within the ruins of the town they were in. Before long, the pair saw the two Devidramon land down in front of what looked like an old small temple that was in complete disrepair and decay. One of them started approaching the entrance of the desolate temple while the other one started flying in circles around it. Veemon and Gatomon quickly went and hid behind one of the large broken pillars lying across the ground.

"I don't suppose you know what Myotismon's former henchmen are doing out here in front of that old building, do you Tigress?" Veemon asked.

"I hate to admit this," Gatomon admitted, "But I think I do."

Veemon looked at Gatomon incredulously and remarked, "You're pulling my tail, right?"

"I wish I was," Gatomon replied, "But I've seen a picture of that old broken down temple before in one of Myotismon's books. During my saddest and hated years working as one of Myotismon's servants, I would sneak into his library and look through a couple of his books. I was searching for anything I could find useful against him."

"I take it you didn't have such luck," Veemon knowingly commented.

"All of the books were written in an old language I couldn't understand at all," Gatomon explained, "I grew frustrated and just as I decided to give up, I saw a picture of that very same temple in one of his books. I don't know what's significant about that wrecked temple since I couldn't translate the ancient writings."

"I don't think you have to worry about that now because we've just been spotted," Veemon remarked as he pointed to the flying Devidramon that was now flying at them. The other Devidramon saw that his partner found intruders and went to aid him as he started making his way to where Veemon and Gatomon were.

"Looks like we're in trouble Veemon!" Gatomon warned.

 **"Crimson Claw!"** the Devidramon that first spotted them yelled out with his gigantic claws aimed at them.

"Look out!" Veemon shouted as he grabbed Gatomon and leaped away just before Devidramon's attack slashed and shattered the pillar they were previously hiding behind. The second Devidramon rushed in at them with his claws out ready to attack.

"Time to go on the offensive!" Veemon declared as he got ready to fight.

"I'm on it!" Gatomon professed, **"Lightning Paw!"**

Gatomon dashed at the charging dark dragon Digimon with her right paw out and aimed to hit the offending Digimon. Her attack made contact and struck the Digimon head on hitting one of its four eyes. Devidramon screeched a bit from the pain before he flew off course and went flying into another broken pillar lying on the ground. The first Devidramon saw his partner knocked down and charged at Gatomon.

"Where do you think you're going buster!?" Veemon remarked as he raced after the dragon Digimon seeking to attack Gatomon from behind, **"V-Headbutt!"**

Veemon leaped into the air and soared at his targeted Digimon. Devidramon however saw him and used his left arm as a shield to block Veemon's attack. To Devidramon's surprise though, Veemon's V-Headbutt attack carried with it a strong amount of power and force that actually pushed him back a bit and stunned his arm.

"Damn you!" Devidramon cursed before using his right hand to punch Veemon away from him. Rather than nursing his stinging arm, Devidramon charged at Veemon.

 **"Demonic Gale!"** Devidramon roared as he flew high and fast through the sky, slicing the air and creating a shockwave to blast at Veemon from beneath. Veemon hardly had time to escape when he was struck with the attack that sent him flying into one of the walls of a close by long abandoned building. After hitting the wall, Veemon fell to the ground dazed and disoriented with some bruises around his body. With Veemon temporarily down, Devidramon moved in swiftly to finish him off when…

"Get away from Veemon!" Gatomon hissed venomously as she dashed through the air into Devidramon's direction. The said Digimon turned in time to see Gatomon's paw connect with his face, sending him away from Veemon and onto the ground. Gatomon landed down and hurried over to Veemon.

"Veemon!" Gatomon called out worriedly, "Draco, are you alright?"

"I will be as soon as I get my hands on the driver of that bus that hit me," Veemon mumbled with head struggling through its dizzy state and trying to get back together.

"Yeah," Gatomon snorted sarcastically as she helped him up to his feet, "You're in good shape alright. Let's get you out of here no-"

The feline Digimon didn't get to finish when a large claw appeared smacked her hard away from Veemon. She wailed loudly after being ambushed by the first Devidramon she took down earlier. Veemon watched silently as Gatomon was sent flying and crashing into a pile of rubble with four slash marks on her back. The impact and additional injuries forced her to de-digivolve back into Salamon who looked to be helpless and in a world of pain with a trickle of blood seeping down both ends of her mouth.

Seeing what happened to her ruptured a deadly rage in Veemon as he started glowing with a flicking light appearing around his entirely body. Veemon threw his head into the air and gave out a loud draconian roar as a holographic projection of a roaring Cyberdramon appeared around his glowing body. Seconds later features of Cyberdramon's began to appear as the tips of Veemons fingers became metallic tipped claws and two glowing slits appeared on his back. From out of the slits came Cyberdramon's large red wings. Veemon's skin even darkened a little as power flowed through his being.

Salamon, despite her pain, watched speechlessly at what was happening to Veemon. The two Devidramon couldn't make sense of the transformation but that mattered little to them as they both charged in at the transformed Veemon who just stood there waiting for them with bloodlust in his eyes. Spreading his newly acquired wings out wide open as the holographic image of Cyberdramon faded away, Veemon flapped his newly acquired wings with a strong force as he rocketed into the air and into the two opposing dragon Digimon's direction.

 **"Desolation Claw!"** Veemon called out as he produced a super-oscillatory wave from both of his arms that went straight through the two Devidramon's chest cavities. The attack was so potent that their bodies instantly started fragmenting into data particles as both of them gave out screams of sheer pain. Veemon however had no intentions of showing mercy as he spread his arms and wings out and begin absorbing every last bit of their data into his body as they were still screaming and disintegrating.

The injured Salamon could only watch silently in both shock and fright as Veemon assimilated the two Devidramon until they were completely gone without leaving behind a single scrap of their data.

 _'Veemon took out and absorbed two Champion Digimon at the same time!'_ Salamon acknowledged with a look of disbelief, _'He told me that he has that ability but it's a whole other thing to see it for myself! And that Digimon that momentarily appeared around his body...was that Cyberdramon? It had to be!'_

After they were fully assimilated and integrated into his body, Veemon flew over to Salamon and landed down in front of her. As the blue dragon made his way over to her, he was able to see the clear look of fear she had of him even though he saved her life again.

"Please don't be afraid Salamon," Veemon assured with a slight rough gruff to his voice, "I'm still me."

Veemon glowed and changed back to normal with only Cyberdramon's large wings remaining on his back which would later disappear after Cyberdramon's summoned power was fully deactivated.

"I'm sorry you had to see what you saw," Veemon apologized, "Assimilation isn't a sight for a Digimon to witness. But I'm sure you understand that those two Digimon had no intentions of letting either of us walk out here alive and I wasn't going let them hurt you anymore than they already had."

"I understand," Salamon said before wincing from the stinging pain of her wounds. Veemon went over to her and lifted her up carefully bridal style.

"Let's see what those two were seeking before we leave from this place," Veemon suggested before using his wings to fly quickly to the temple shrine with Salamon in his arms. The entrance to the shrine was blocked with a broken slab placed over it that had a symbol of an unknown seal engraved on it.

"What's this symbol?" Salamon asked aloud.

"You got me…but whatever is inside that building must be something of importance if those two Devidramon were ready to kill us for it," Veemon noted as he carefully set Salamon down and approached the slab.

 **"V-Headbutt!"** Veemon shouted as he charged and plunged his horned head into the slab, effectively knocking it down. Looking inside the small temple, all Veemon found inside of it was a stone altar with a rolled up scroll tied and wrapped with a sheet of some sort. There were ancient writings around the walls but make parts of them were in unreadable and in disrepair. Veemon entered the chamber and retrieved the scroll resting on the altar. Salamon slowly approached the entrance and peaked inside.

"Did you find anything significant?" Salamon inquired.

"Just some old wrapped up scroll," Veemon said as he turned to her and walked back over to her. He showed her the scroll and pointed out, "Whatever's inside this worthless looking old scroll must be of great value."

"What should we do with the scroll now that it's in our possession?" Salamon asked.

"Let's report this to Davis and see what he wants us to do with it," Veemon advised. Salamon nodded her head in agreement as Veemon handed her the scroll and lifted her up back into his arms. Turning away from the entrance, Veemon spread his wings and took off into the air, securely holding Salamon in his arms as they left the vicinity together. Salamon was accustomed to flying as Angewomon and recently got used to it as Nefertimon. But it felt different when she was being carried through the air in Veemon's protective arms. As in the case with Kari in connection with Davis, Salamon felt safe and secured knowing Veemon would fight with all his might to protect her.

* * *

 **(Back In The Real World)**

It was late into the evening hours and Davis was in his bedroom with the lights off sitting at his desk front of his laptop. Kari and Yolei returned home an hour ago after their time hanging out with him in his room. Jun couldn't help but take the opportunity to tease Davis about having what others would call a threesome harem straight out of a manga with Kari securing her spot at his right while Yolei kept her spot at his left. Jun wasn't blind and knew both Kari and Yolei really liked her younger brother.

Currently he was playing a game of online chess with an anonymous online player. The said anonymous player had been known for giving Davis close and challenging matches that really tested Davis' skills and intellect, something Davis appreciated as such matches helped keep his skills and strategic thinking prowess as a chess grandmaster sharp and on point. Davis would learn and study each of his matches and develop methods of deciphering his opponent's patterns and finds ways to win in the end.

"Checkmate," Davis said as he just won another seriously close match. Davis typed and sent a message to his mystery challenger, giving his thanks to the opponent for giving him yet another good match. Davis saw how his opponent got better every time, which in effect forced Davis to continuously keep his chess skills sharp. The opponent sent a "thank you" message to Davis and said that he would learn from that match and come back stronger. The opponent had bid Davis "farewell" and logged off. Davis then logged off also and turned his laptop off.

Seeing the hour was passed 10:30 pm, Davis decided to turn in. He stripped down to his underwear and as he got into bed, he thought about how quiet things had been in the Digital World, at least for now. He knew Ken was plotting something but he couldn't figure out what it was yet, considering that this Ken was more vicious and cutthroat than he originally was and for some reason appeared to have a grudge against him.

While lying there, he thought about Veemon's words to him two weeks ago regarding the matter concerning Kari's and Yolei's attractions and feelings toward him. Davis remembered how in his first life he tried so hard to win Kari's love and affections until he turned 18 years old and finally decided to give up and stop pursuing her and move on with his life. But now in this new rebooted life of his, not only was Kari seeking to win his heart and affections this time around but also Yolei, something he never once dreamed would happened in his first life as a naïve and reckless young teenager.

 _'If I was the old Davis I was back then right now,'_ Davis thought, _'I would have rubbed it in TK's face that Kari likes me and wants to be my girlfriend. Yolei having affections for me is something I never in my life considered since back then we always had arguments and she frequently made remarks that either mocked me or made me look like I wasn't so bright. Not to mention that everyone and Tai back then always thought TK and Kari would and should hook up…Why am I even worrying over such trivial nonsense about what happened in my past? They don't even play a factor in my new rewritten life anymore.'_

 _'Still, the issue between Yolei and Kari is real and so are their affections for me. Therefore, I better not take the matter lightly or simply dismiss their feelings for me just because of mental age difference between me and them.'_

Davis' line of thoughts was interrupted when his D-terminal chimed. He got up out of bed and went over to it. Picking it up, he opened his D-terminal and read the message sent to him by Veemon. Davis carefully read the detailed message.

"So Veemon and Gatomon found some kind of lost artifact that was being guarded for reasons unknown," Davis said to himself as he looked at the picture Veemon sent to him. Davis then sent Veemon a reply that read: _"I'll have to look into this tomorrow if or when the opportunity presents itself."_

Davis then closed his D-terminal and placed it back down on the desk before heading over to his bed. Pulling the covers open, Davis got into bed and pulled the covers back over him. Before long he was fast asleep.

* * *

 **(The Next Morning)**

It was 6:10 am and Davis set alarm didn't go off yet. But his alarm would be the least of his worries as an uninvited intruder made her way into Davis' room with an object in her hand. Closing the door to his room, the female intruder went over to Davis' bed and stood right where his head was lying. After quickly setting the object up, the intruder ran her fingers down the strings of the now identified electric guitar, blasting loud music into Davis' ears through the built-in amplifiers. Davis woke up in an instant from the sudden blast of stringed pop music bouncing off the walls of his room and grabbed a lamp for a weapon out of reflex thinking he was under attack.

"Hey!" the female intruder screamed and panicked just before Davis could take a swing at her with the lamp in hand.

"What the hell!?" Davis yelled angrily when he saw who the intruder was as he lowered the lamp.

"It's time to wake up bro!" Jun shouted with a mischievous smile on her face as she was playing her electric guitar by his bed while in her knee high sleeping gown. Davis growled angrily and yelled, "Are you freaking insane!?"

"No," Jun said while hitting some more notes, "I just wanted to wake you up to some of my rocking beats before heading to school today!"

Davis looked at his clock to see what time it was and suddenly his alarm went off.

"You see Davis," Jun grinned, "I only woke you up a minute before your alarm did."

"And you couldn't have woken me up in a less startling way!?" Davis growled out as he almost swore he had a heart attack which he wondered if he actually could since he had the mind of an adult.

"Perhaps but this way was more fun, plus you tend to be a bit of a heavy sleeper," Jun replied while playing a full chord. Davis didn't dignify her with a response as he placed the lamp back down and threw his blanket from off him and got out of bed wearing only the underwear he went to bed with last night. As went over and turned his alarm off…

"There is something called pajamas you know," Jun remarked with an evident frown on her face while looking at her nearly nude brother.

"And there's a thing called being subtle but you clearly don't have that," Davis shot back.

"So what's your point?" Jun challenged.

"My point is that you shouldn't be one to talk about clothes since you regularly galvanize around the place wearing nothing but a towel over your body after a bath," Davis stated and then demanded, "Now get out you crude woman!"

"I'm not crude!" Jun argued, "I'm a lady with class and imagination! _"_

"And you're about as classy as an active mine field," Davis remarked as he went and opened the door before heading back to Jun.

"Now take your class and imagination out of my room!" Davis remarked as he pointed to the opened exit.

"How about an encore?" Jun asked with the grin while readying her guitar.

"Jun!" Davis warned as he was close to using force.

"Fine! Whatever!" Jun shot back as she took her electric guitar and walked out of the room. Davis then shut the door and locked it behind him.

"That crude woman," Davis muttered under his breath before relaxing himself, "Since I'm up now I might as well do my daily morning exercises and stretches."

Davis' morning exercises consisted of five minutes of stretches, twenty-five push-ups, two sets of twenty-five crunches, two sets of twenty-five sit-ups, and thanks to an exercise hook bar his father bought for him that can be hooked to his closet door, two sets of twelve pull-ups. This was his daily morning routine Davis had been doing for the past two and a half years but his real workout was done with Veemon in the Digital World, which kept him in shape on top of having his original strength and speed as an adult that remained intact making him stronger.

* * *

 **(Thirty-Two Minutes Later)**

Kari was standing outside of Davis' apartment complex waiting patiently for Davis' arrival. This habitual routine had become almost instinctive to her as she had been doing this practically every day for school. She looked at her watch and saw that it wouldn't be long till Davis arrived and by the time she looked up, Davis was making his way out to the door. A moment later, came through the door and greeted Kari, "Good morning Kari."

"Good morning to you too, Davis," Kari greeted in return, "Slept well?"

"I had a rude awakening in the form of my crude older sister," Davis replied, "I swear if she keeps going the way she is, she'll have a hard time finding and getting a husband!"

"Don't say such things like that Davis," Kari said as they started walking together, "Things can't be that bad."

"Does Tai wake you up by blasting loud unwanted music in your head with an electric guitar or does he wake and use you as a guinea pig to try one of your mother's experimental smoothie drinks as breakfast?" Davis asked. Kari shuddered at the thought of drinking one of her mother's smoothie concoctions. Even Agumon wouldn't drink one and he had a ravenous appetite on occasions.

"Please don't remind me of that," Kari said, "I narrowly avoided drinking one the other day as I ran out saying I had to catch up with you for school before being marked late. I never did ask Tai how he avoided it that morning."

"Maybe by saying that he would be sharing a bento with Sora," Davis remarked.

Kari gave Davis a look and said "I have yet to see that happen."

But Kari did wish it did happen.

"Really?" Davis remarked, "I would have thought they would sometimes. Besides you and I occasionally did it."

"You and Kari occasionally did it?" a feminine voice asked from behind them. The pair turned to see Jun dressed in her high school uniform smiling at both of them.

"Hey Jun," Kari greeted politely, "When did you show up?"

"Just a second ago when I overheard my dear little brother say how you and him occasionally _did it_ ," Jun teased in a suggestive tone while putting emphasis on the last two words. Kari blushed darkly when she read the underlying meaning to Jun's words while Davis frowned and replied, "Get the facts straights Jun. We're talking about sharing lunch and eating together."

"Sounds like something a couple would do," Jun continued teasing while seeing the look on Kari's face after she heard her words, _'She's cute when she gets all nervous about Davis.'_

"Jun why are you here?" Davis asked.

"On my way to school just like you, why else?" Jun playfully remarked.

"To be a pain and to spy on your brother with futile hopes of finding blackmail material," Davis replied.

"I love you too Davis," Jun countered. Kari watched the way Davis and Jun interacted with each other and she was able to tell that despite the pranks and remarks they would make to each other, they actually had a close brother-and-sister relationship with each other, regardless how unorthodox it seemed.

* * *

 **(Later That Day)**

After a long day, school was over and all of the students went about their daily afterschool activities after doing their assign cleaning tasks in the school. Tai went to meet up with Sora at the tennis field with his personal tennis racket in hand and in his tennis clothes.

Matt for his part was making his way to the music store when his eyes caught sight of Tai meeting up Sora at the tennis field who was dressed up in her tennis uniform. He turned away when he saw Tai hug Sora when they thought no one was looking. Clearly they weren't comfortable showing affections openly in public yet.

 _'Clearly Sora is already spoken for,'_ Matt thought to himself as he resigned himself to continue to his intended destination to check out a new electric guitar he heard about from one of his band members. He had been waiting all day at school for his opportunity to check out and sample the feel of that model instrument and the first thing he did after school was over was hurry to the store that had what he was looking for. It was quite a walk but he eventually made it and entered the facility. Matt was greeted by the store owner who said, "Good afternoon Yamato. It's been a while."

"It sure has," Matt said, "I heard that you bought a new model electric guitar here. I was hoping to examine and check it out for myself if that's alright with you."

"Get in line," the store remarked, "Someone else beat you to the punch in sampling that guitar."

"Say what?" Matt replied with a raised eyebrow when he looked further into the store to see teen girl his age with wild spiked maroon hair holding the very guitar he came to check out. As Matt walked further into the store, the said girl started playing the guitar in her hands again after getting the feel for it the first couple of times. Matt stopped to watch her play with the instrument and found to his surprise that the girl was actually good at playing that instrument. He watched and listened to her play the instrument for the next couple of minutes before she concluded it with style.

"I'm impressed," Matt praised as he approached the girl, "You handled playing that guitar rather well."

The girl turned to Matt and said, "Thanks. I got into playing stringed instruments after my younger brother did nearly five years ago."

"You were inspired by your younger sibling to get into music?" Matt asked with interest, "That sounds cool. I'm Yamato Ishida by the way, but please call me Matt. What's your name?"

"Jun Motomiya," Jun replied and smiled, "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Did you say Motomiya," Matt realized, "Are you by any chance related to Daisuke Motomiya?"

"You mean Davis the prodigy child?" Jun remarked, "Yeah, that's my little brother."

"Small world isn't it," Matt replied, "He's also in the same class as my little brother TK and my best friend's little sister is also in the same class with them."

"You mean Kari Kamiya?" Jun clarified, "Yeah, I knew Kari for years, almost as long as Davis knew her," Jun then deduced, "That would mean that your best friend is Tai, Kari's brother. He and Davis always talk about soccer."

"Yep that's the same Tai I'm talking about," Matt smiled, "But soccer was never really my thing whereas I'm more into singing and playing musical instruments. By the way, how often do you practice playing the guitar?"

"I do so on a weekly basis," Jun said, "I usually watch online tutorials and practice for at least an hour or so. I'm not as good as my brother when it comes to playing instruments but I still strive to improve the best way I can just like how he does with his instrument. I can only hope to be as good as Davis is someday."

"What kind of musical stringed instrument does he play may I ask?" Matt inquired.

"The violin," Jun answered, "After he turned 8 years old, he suddenly just got into the violin and has been playing it since as if it came natural to him. Whenever he plays I like to listen to him since he surprisingly knows how to play some beautiful melodies and musical renditions, some of which sounds rather original. But as good as he is however, he doesn't advertise it to everyone. I could never understand why he hides that talent of his rather than showing it to others. I always felt that it's such a waste having a talent that you refuse to share to others."

"Maybe that's something you can talk to him about," Matt suggested, "Perhaps you might strike something in him to get him to stop hiding that talent of his."

"Maybe you might succeed in doing that if you ever come across and talk to him first," Jun replied, "He could be very hardheaded and stubborn sometimes, even for a school genius."

"I can try if the opportunity ever comes up," Matt offered, "I just hope he doesn't get bent out of shape that I know his secret now that you told me."

"He'll get over it," Jun said, "Besides, I'm the one who'll be on the receiving end of his lips when…," Jun paused when she realized what she said and exclaimed, "Ugh, that so didn't come out right! It sounded like I wanted to share a kiss with my brother!"

"It's alright Jun," Matt assured, "I understand what you were actually trying to say…"

Matt paused for a moment to think about his options. Originally weeks earlier, he wanted to ask and invite Sora to his upcoming concert, but that idea was scrapped before he could even put it into action after Tai knowingly intervened and got to Sora first. He also recalled the warning glare Tai gave him that silently told him: _'Stay away from Sora or there will be problems.'_ Matt didn't want problems with Tai and he knew how much Tai liked and cared for Sora and from what he last heard, Tai and Sora officially became a couple. Sora was off the market, and Matt accepted that he had to move on to someone else. And with that in mind, Matt came to a decision…

 _'What could it hurt?'_ Matt asked himself mentally, "Tell you what Jun," Matt offered, "Should Davis get upset with you because of me talking to him about getting him to share his talent with others, how about I make it up to you in advance?"

"What do you mean?" Jun asked curiously. Matt reached into his pocket and retrieved a concert ticket to present to Jun.

"I'm part of a music pop band called "Lone Wolves"," Matt said, "We're going to be having a concert in the next two weeks and I would like for you to attend it. We can talk some more after the concert if you like. What do you say?"

"I'd love to!" Jun cheered and agreed excitedly as she immediately accepted the free ticket and bowed, "Thank you so very much!"

"My pleasure," Matt asked, "By the way, how long have you been practicing the guitar?"

"About two years now," Jun revealed, "But I'm still not at the level I would like to be at."

"Well no one becomes a musician overnight," Matt remarked and then offered, "How about I give you some pointers? Play a couple of renditions for me so I can see how you play."

Jun smiled and nodded her head as she complied. As this was going on, the store owner watched the scene for a moment before going about his own business and letting the two teens enjoy each other's time and attention.

* * *

 **(Meanwhile In The Digital World)**

Veemon, Gatomon Patamon, Hawkmon and Armadillomon were traveling together while keeping an eye out for the Digimon Emperor's minions.

"Are you sure you know where you're going Veemon?" Armadillomon questioned.

"Do you want to play the role of leader Armadillomon?" Veemon asked while looking back to said Digimon.

"I'm hoping you'll lead us to some fresh water because I'm thirsty," Armadillomon replied.

"I could use a drink of water myself too," Hawkmon agreed, "This region of the Digital World hasn't had much in the form of rain recently from the look of things."

"Fine," Veemon consented, "I know a fresh water river not too far from here. Follow me."

"Do we have a choice?" Patamon remarked, "We've been doing that all day."

"That's what I like to hear," Veemon replied with an optimistic smile, "Now continue following my lead."

Patamon decided to say nothing more and just continue following behind Veemon. As they were doing so, Gatomon who was walking alongside close to Veemon, thought back to the last battle Veemon had against the two Devidramon and how he took out and absorbed both of them at the same time.

 _"I'm a Digimon of many talents…"_

 _'Those were Veemon's words to me,'_ Gatomon contemplated as she looked and stared at Veemon attentively, _'You're smarter and stronger than you're letting on Draco. Even as a Rookie, you completely obliterated two Champion Digimon on your own before assimilating them. What else about yourself are you hiding from me?'_

Veemon turned his eye to Gatomon and remarked with a grin, "I'll never get tired of you staring and admiring my greatness Tigress."

Gatomon snapped out of it and blushed when she realized that she was staring too long at Veemon when contemplating what she knew about him.

"Don't get full of yourself Draco," Gatomon replied.

"Draco? Tigress?" Hawkmon repeated as he looked at Veemon and Gatomon, "You both have time to flirt and give each other pet names while-"

"Guys! Look!" Veemon alerted as he stopped and pointed to the river after his eyes caught sight of something there. The rest of the group stopped and looked to see what Veemon was pointing to when he saw a Digimon lying on the river shore on his belly and face unconscious.

"It's Gabumon!" Veemon identified before running off to get to him. Gatomon and the rest of the group didn't need to be told to follow after Veemon as they quickly ran as fast as they could to keep in pace with Veemon as he hurried down to the river to help Gabumon. Veemon was the first to reach Gabumon who was clearly battered and hurt. Gabumon was helped to regain consciousness and saw that Veemon the other Digimon were at his side.

"Veemon! Patamon! You're all here," Gabumon said spirit of relief.

"Yes we're here buddy," Patamon greeted with respite.

"What happened to you?" Veemon asked.

"You look like you were somebody's punching bag," Armadillomon commented.

"I was in the village of the Gazimon when the Digimon Emperor sent his minions to attack the village," Gabumon explained, "His minions were RedVegiemon and his clunky followers of Vegiemon. I attempted liberate the village and the Gazimon but I was overpowered by RedVegiemon and took a vicious beating from him that nearly killed me. He punched me off a cliff and sent me flying into the running river where I barely escaped. With what little strength I had I managed to crawl out to here."

"That explains why we found you here," Hawkmon stated.

"Now we have to alert Davis and the others about what's happening," Veemon advised as he looked around for a monitor and keyboard to use to send a distress call to Davis.

* * *

 **(All The While In The Real World)**

Kari, Yolei and Cody made their way to the computer room after being instructed by Davis to report there. Upon their arrival, they found Davis already there sitting at the designated computer station used for the Digi-Port. Davis turned to the group and greeted, "I see that all but one of you made it on time. Where's TK?"

"He couldn't make it," Kari explained, "He said he had to do something and asked me to fill him in on everything that will happen and be discussed at this meeting."

"If I were an actual US Navy Admiral with you guys as my subsidiary platoon, I'd have TK sent to the brig and court martialed," Davis remarked.

"Meaning what exactly?" Kari asked and stated, "Because I have no idea what you're talking about Davis."

"In other words Kari," Yolei clarified in details, "Davis is saying that if this was the United States Navy and he was the highest ranking commanding office, which is the Admiral, he would of had his lower rank subordinate TK arrested and put into a navy prison and trialed in a military court to face charges for choosing not be here when he was supposed to."

"…Davis really?" Kari sighed as she now understood that Davis was annoyed that TK skipped out on a meeting he deemed was important and needed their attention, "I'm sure TK has a good explanation for not being here."

"Whatever TK's story is, I don't need to know," Davis said, "But what you need to know Kari is that both Veemon and Gatomon were attacked last night by two Devidramon."

"What!?" Kari asked with worry as Yolei and Cody now gave Davis their full attention, "Was the Digimon Emperor behind that attack? Were they captured?"

"No to both questions," Davis replied, "According to Veemon's report, those two Devidramon weren't under the control of the Digimon Emperor nor did they have any dark rings on them. They acted on their own free will and tried to kill our partners."

"But why would they attack and try to destroy our Digimon partners?" Kari asked.

"Veemon and Gatomon found out that those two Digimon were doing something they didn't want our Digimon to know," Davis expounded, "They didn't want any witnesses to report what they were up to."

"And what exactly were they up to?" Cody asked.

"Those two Devidramon were retrieving an olden scroll of unknown origins," Davis answered, "The scroll itself was written in an unknown language that looked to be lost in time. Gatomon and Veemon weren't able to make out what was written in it."

"Do you suppose we can have Izzy take a look at the scroll and see what he can find?" Kari suggested.

"Kari, Izzy is a tech guru not an archaeologist," Davis replied, "I told Veemon to have the scroll given to Gennai."

"You know Gennai?" Kari asked with a surprised look.

"I met him before during my earlier adventures when it used to be only me and Veemon fighting together," Davis revealed, "He was the one who taught me much about the Digital World. The that scroll is now in his possession and from what Veemon told me, Gennai said he'll inform us on whatever he found later on in the future."

"That scroll must have been something of great importance if those two Digimon tried to kill your and Kari's partner," Yolei said.

"Yes it is," Davis agreed, "Plus Veemon was forced to use extreme force to stop them after they seriously wounded Gatomon."

"How hurt is my partner?" Kari asked, "Is it critical?"

"Veemon helped nurse her back to full health with Gennai's assistance," Davis assured, "Your partner is in good health and made a full recovery."

"Thank goodness," Kari said with relief. Davis was about to say something when his D-Terminal sitting on the desk next to the computer went off. Davis picked up his D-Terminal and read the message sent to him.

"What is it?" Cody asked.

"It's an S.O.S. from the Digital World," Davis answered in a calm but serious tone, "And this time it does involves the Digimon Emperor."

"What's he up to now?" Yolei inquired.

"He sent some of his enslaved Digimon to attack a village," Davis said, "Veemon and our other Digimon partners are with Matt's partner Gabumon who was attacked by the invading Digimon under the Digimon Emperor's control," Davis turned to Kari and instructed, "Get a hold of TK and tell him what's going on and to get a hold of Matt and bring him back here."

"Hopefully TK won't be too busy to help," Kari said as he pulled out her D-Terminal to send a message to TK.

"Knowing TK," Davis remarked while still reading the rest of the message in his D-terminal, "I'm sure he'll respond to the call and act quickly."

"Let's hope you're right Davis," Kari said as she continued typing her message to send to TK.

"I'm sure he'll drop whatever he's doing and respond fast since it's you that's sending the call out to him, Kari," Davis added stated as a matter of fact. Yolei, Cody and Kari didn't miss the hidden meaning behind Davis' subtle words. But Kari played it off and replied, "Ha, ha, I'm laughing my head off Davis."

Davis simply shrugged and said nothing more as Kari followed through with what Davis had asked of her. Two minutes later, Kari got a reply from TK confirming that he got her message and that he would look for Matt and bring him back to the school.

"TK received my message and will meet up with us with Matt in company," Kari said.

"Good," Davis said as he turned to face the computer monitor, "In the meantime I'll set up the Digi-port and see if Veemon can give me the coordinates to the location he was talking about."

* * *

 **(Meanwhile Elsewhere)**

"…Why isn't Matt picking up his phone?!" TK sighed in annoyance as he repeatedly tried to call his older brother who wasn't answering his mobile phone. TK was running down the block looking for Matt after he got word from Kari that there was trouble in the DigiWorld and asked to find and bring Matt back with him so they could go and rescue Gabumon with Matt in their company.

"C'mon Matt!" TK said aloud in his phone while still calling Matt's phone, "What could be distracting you from answering your-"

TK stopped running when his eyes caught sight of an unexpected scene. He walked over to the store window to see Matt talking and listening attentively to a teen girl playing an electric guitar in her hands.

"Are you serious?" TK asked as he watched in amusement his older brother and Jun interact with each other, evidently enjoying their time conversing with each other. He quietly entered the store with his phone in hand. Once in position, TK snapped a few pictures of Matt and Jun together before putting his phone away.

"It's about time I found you Matt," TK said, catching both Matt's and Jun's attention. The older teens looked to see TK standing a few feet from them.

"TK?" Matt asked, "What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you obviously," TK said, "The gang and I need you now and I was sent to find you."

"What's the problem?" Matt asked. Before TK could reply, Matt's mobile phone went off. He quickly took it out and read the message sent to him. His expression turned grim after reading the S.O.S. message sent to him by Gabumon. Turning to Jun, Matt said, "I'm sorry but an emergency just came up and it requires my immediate attention. We'll have to continue our conversation another day."

"I understand," Jun said, "But how will I get in touch with you since we go to different high schools?"

"Give me your number and I'll call it so you can have and save mine on your phone," Matt suggested. TK watched the scene unfold in front of him as he soon noticed that the teen girl shared a resemblance to someone. Before TK could figure it out, Matt told Jun he'd talk to her later and waved her goodbye as he went over to TK.

"C'mon let's go!" Matt said grabbed TK and hurried out of the music store and to the school where Davis and the others were waiting.

"At least now I understand why you wouldn't answer your phone after all this times I tried calling you," TK teased, "So who was the girl you have this sudden interest in giving music lessons to?"

"Shut up TK!" Matt replied with a small blush on his face.

* * *

 **(Later In The Digital World)**

The TV that was used to send Davis the S.O.S. message flashed and teleported Davis and his team with Matt in company.

"You guys finally made it!" Patamon cheered.

"Thank heavens," Hawkmon remarked, "Besides finding Gabumon in the condition he's currently in, watching and listening to Veemon's and Gatomon's flirty behavior with each other was like watching the characters in those soap operas Yolei be watching."

"Hey!" Yolei, Veemon and Gatomon retorted in resentment.

"Hawkmon," Veemon warned, "You'd be wise not to make such comments."

"And there's more to my favorite soap operas than what's on the surface Hawkmon!" Yolei argued, "You just weren't there to see how things started out between the lead protagonist and the love of his life!"

"Guys please, let's focus on the situation at hand," Davis said as he rubbed the bridge of his nose while seeing Matt checking on his partner personally.

"Davis is right," Matt agreed and then returned his attention back to his Digimon partner, "Gabumon tell us exactly what happened."

"Alright then," Gabumon said as he explained to the DigiDestined the situation with the village of Gazimon and Digimon under the Digimon Emperor's control that attacked them. After hearing Gabumon's explanation, Matt inquired, "Where's this village of the Gazimon that's under the control of RedVegiemon and those Vegiemon?"

"I can lead you guys there," Gabumon said before being helped to his feet.

"Tell me something Gabumon," Davis asked, "When you were there, did you by any chance see a tall black towering monument that wasn't there before?"

Gabumon thought for a moment and said, "Now that you mentioned it, I did see something like that in the region of the village."

"Then that's where we're going first," Davis said.

"Why there?" Matt asked.

"What your partner saw was a control spire," Davis explained, "That's what the Digimon Emperor is using to inhibit Digimon digivolution and extend his control over the Digimon he's terrorizing. If we take it out, it'll cut off the inhibiting waves in that region that's prevention digivolution."

"Good idea!" Matt agreed.

"I'm in!" Cody chimed.

"Let's do this!" TK said.

The group then started on their trek to find the control spire that was in the region of the village. Things seemed peaceful as they didn't run into any trouble so far. For the next forty minutes the group journeyed through the meadows and forest until they came across a large towering wall that had a large open entrance. Through it was the mountain that had the very control spire Gabumon was talking about.

"There it is," Gabumon pointed out, "There's that control spire!"

"Great work in leading us here!" Matt praised.

"Terrific!" Davis said, "Now let's make our way to the top of that mountain and shut down that control spire!"

And what that, the group went through the entrance and started on their way to the mountain's base. After getting there, they started their long walk up the paved path of the mountain leading to the top and while that was happening, a conversation between Matt and TK ensued.

"So Matt," TK started off, "Who was the chick at the music store you were speaking with and checking out?"

"She was a cool girl who has an interest in music like me," Matt said.

"From what I saw there was more to your conversation than you're admitting," TK noted.

"I don't see where you're getting at," Matt replied.

"You didn't deny that you were checking her out when I asked you about her just a moment ago," TK pointed out, which earned him a frown of annoyance from his older brother after seeing his point.

"Matt was checking someone out?" Davis asked while wanting to know how much time and events in their history have changed. TK turned to Davis and said, "My brother was engaged in a lengthy conversation with this girl at the music instrument store and it was also one of the reasons why he wouldn't answer his phone when several times I was trying to call and find him."

"Really?" Davis asked with his interest heightened. Kari and Yolei were just as interested in wanting to know who was the girl that caught Matt's eyes and attention while Cody just quietly listened in.

"This must be some hot girl if she caught Matt's attention and interest to the point that he didn't respond to any of TK's call," Davis remarked.

"Not only that Davis but Matt even asked the girl to give him her number and he called it just so she could have his saved to her phone," TK recalled.

"Matt did that?" Kari asked with a smile on her face. TK confirmed, "I saw the whole thing play out in front of me after you guys asked me to find him."

Yolei looked over at Matt and boldly asked, "Did you ask her out?"

Matt blushed and replied, "I didn't ask her out! And why is this even up for discussion as if it's the latest gossip? Shouldn't we be more focused on taking out that control spire?"

"C'mon guys," Cody said, "Let's stop embarrassing Matt more than we already are."

"Don't be a killjoy here Cody," Yolei replied.

"Since you exchanged numbers with this hot girl," Davis asked Matt, "Did you at least get her name?"

Matt turned to Davis and then remembered the girl's connection with Davis.

"I did," Matt confirmed, "In fact Davis, that girl spoke very highly of you. Believe it or not Davis, she truly admires your skills and talents and told me personally that you're her inspiration to always improve and better herself."

"That girl told you that?" Davis asked with a surprised expression.

"Davis had that kind of indirect influence in her life?" Kari wondered with a look that said she was just as surprised. With a bright smile formed on his face, Davis exclaimed, "I like this hot girl even more!" Davis didn't see the jealous frowns on Kari's and Yolei's faces as he inquired, "So what's her name?"

Matt grinned as he turned to Davis and answered, "Jun Motomiya."

Davis stopped walking as the smile on his face was instantly replaced with disbelief and shock. Kari and Yolei also stopped walking to look at Matt when they heard the name that was spoken from his mouth.

"Did you say Jun?" Davis repeated, "As in…my older sister Jun?"

"That girl you were checking out was Davis's older sister?" TK asked with a surprised look on his face, "That explains the resemblance. I was wondering why she reminded me of someone."

"Jun was the hot girl you were checking out?" Davis asked, before he paled and realized what he said as a horrified expression formed on his face, "Aaauuuggggghhhh!" Davis bewailed, "I inadvertently called my sister hot! That's so wrong!"

"You and Jun are definitely siblings," Matt chuckled in amusement, "Believe it or not, she made a similar mistake with her words about you also before she realized how she misworded her statement. But I will admit that what she said was a little worse."

"I didn't need to know that Matt!" Davis retorted indignantly, "And you're not helping with the discomfort I'm feeling!" he then put a hand to his mouth with his cheeks puffed out "I think I'm actually going to throw up."

TK and Patamon were futilely stifling their laughter at Davis' displeasure and behavior while Kari and Yolei felt embarrassed that the girl they were getting jealous of because of Davis' compliments turned out to be Davis' own sister.

"This reminds me of that manga I was reading online on Davis's laptop the other day," Veemon commented, "I believe it's called "Aki-Sora." I normally visualize Davis and Jun as the lead protagonists with Kari playing the role as Davis' younger twin sister and Yolei playing the role as Kari's best female friend whenever I read that manga. Doing that always made for an interesting read with that manga. Right now I'm up to the twenty-fifth chapter."

"You picture me and Jun as what in that "Aki-Sora" manga?" Davis asked Veemon with a dangerously calm tone that promised pain.

"Maybe I should have kept that to myself," Veemon said nervously before he took off and ran from his partner who was now in hot pursuit of him.

"Get back here Veemon so I can defragment and reformat your data particles!" Davis yelled.

"C'mon Davis! It's not like you and Jun actually did those things depicted in that manga in real life!" Veemon pleaded while running from his human partner.

"Are those two always like this with each other?" Matt inquired with a sweatdrop.

"…Draco has a habit of cracking jokes on Davis at all the wrong times," Gatomon sighed, "…He can be a handful sometimes."

"Draco?" Kari asked with a raised eyebrow. Gatomon blushed and clarified, "It's a pet name I gave Veemon."

"Hey," Cody spoke out, "I never heard of that manga "Aki-Sora"."

"Likewise," TK admitted.

"I have," Yolei revealed.

"What's it all about?" Kari asked as she too never heard of it.

"Don't ask," Yolei advised as she shook her head, "You guys are better off not knowing."

"I take it that whatever contents were depicted in it must have been most inappropriate if it got Davis to react in the way he did towards Veemon," Cody inferred, "But then that also means that Davis must have read that manga also."

Yolei was about to say something when she recalled how Veemon role played them in that manga. When she realized it…

"Veemon visualized Davis and Jun like that while visualizing me and Kari in that manga doing those things with Dav-" Yolei slapped her hands over her mouth as she was about to say too much. The heated blush on her face spoke volumes.

"Do I even want to know what you were about to say Yolei?" Kari asked with a doubtful expression.

"Forget it Kari," TK suggested, "Let's drop it. Like Yolei advised, we're better off _not_ knowing."

By this time, Davis finally caught his partner and held him up off the ground.

"So you like using me and Jun as visual aids for that kind of ero-manga Veemon?" Davis asked.

"I didn't think any real harm could come from using my imagination during my private reading," Veemon replied, "Besides it's hard seeing anyone else besides you as the main protagonist in any story or manga I read. It doesn't sit well with me if I imagine anyone else but you as the lead character. To me, you're always the star of the show."

As awkward as things were, Veemon's words served to soften Davis' temper and calm him down as he thought about what Veemon confessed to him.

"I honestly never thought you viewed me that way Veemon," Davis admitted, "I will admit I'm flattered, in an awkward way considered that particular story."

"That's not the only kind manga I read Davis," Veemon said, "I read other genres but always pictured you as the lead protagonist in all of them. Sorry for not clearing that up earlier."

"Sorry for overreacting though what you said kind of threw me through a loop," Davis said, "But at least I now have a better understanding of the way you think and do things."

Davis placed his Digimon back down on his feet as the rest of the group approached them.

"So you both reconciled and patched things up with each other?" Kari asked.

"All is forgiven and cleared up," Davis assured.

"Actually," a voice said, "Things aren't as cleared for you guys as you'd like!"

The group looked up to see RedVegiemon descend down from the air and in front of them. Without given them time to react…

 **"Hazard Breath!"** RedVegiemon yelled out as he spat a fetid brown mist from the mouth straight into the group's path, which made the DigiDestined team and their Digimon fall to the ground paralyzed. Davis and the others were unable to breathe as the noxious odor left them coughing and disoriented.

"Get them!" RedVegiemon order his minion of Vegiemon before they leaped off the high parts of the mountain side and down over to the group. Quickly, the Vegiemon tied up Davis and rest of the group by binding their hands behind their backs with ropes. Soon the group was tied up and made prisoners as RedVegiemon appeared in front of them. Davis and the others saw the dark rings fastened around RedVegiemon and his minions.

"If it isn't the legendary golden child of Miracles," RedVegiemon greeted with a sinister smile, "It'll be an honor handing you over to the Digimon Emperor. He's been planning to have you executed for some time now."

"Tell him to get in line," Davis remarked fearlessly, "Stronger enemies before him have tried and failed."

"Davis don't provoke him!" Kari exclaimed after she saw the evil look in RedVegiemon's eyes.

"Why not?" Davis replied as he looked Red Vegiemon straight in the eyes, "They often say that those who are vegetables are practically brain dead."

"You must really want to die golden child," RedVegiemon retorted as Davis looked back at him defiantly, "Bring them to the top of the mountain so we can show those captured Gazimon their seized savior and his friends!"

The Vegiemon did as they were ordered and hauled the team back to the mountain top that was under the Digimon Emperor's occupation. As they were making their way to the top, Davis saw the control spire at the center of the mountain. A moment later, the group was made to stop.

Meanwhile, Davis looked around and found a rock with a sharp edge to it. After moving to it unnoticeably, he moved his tied up hands to the sharp edge rock and started rubbing the ropes hard against the rock in an effort to weaken and eventually cut the ropes off his hands. Davis kept this up for a few minutes when Veemon quickly took notice of Davis' actions. Carefully turning to Gatomon, Veemon moved behind her and turned his back over to hers. Gatomon stayed quiet while secretly wondering what Veemon was up to. Moving closer to her backwards, Veemon reached for her tied up paws, and slid his tied up hands between her claws. Gatomon quickly caught to what Veemon was planning and began scratching her claws against his rope as best as she could in an effort to free him as Veemon rubbed the rope against her claws to speed things up. Thankfully, the Vegiemon weren't aware of what Davis and Veemon were up to.

"Well this is a fine mess we've gotten ourselves into!" Yolei lamented.

"Don't worry," Cody assured, "I'm sure we'll find some way of getting out of here!"

"The only way out of here will be through you guys being turned into slaves for the Digimon Emperor after you guys have the pleasure of watching the child of Miracles and his Digimon die," RedVegiemon stated as was walking back to the captured group.

"Like we'd allow that to happen," Matt retorted.

"It's not like we're giving any of you brats a choice or a say in this," Redvegiemon replied darkly, then the punched Matt in the gut hard enough to send in down to his knees as the breath was knocked out of him.

"Matt!" TK, Gabumon, and Patamon yelled out in concern as they tried hurry over to him. The Vegiemon however, smacked them down to the floor and restrained them both.

"Leave them alone!" Cody yelled, "They obvious can't do anything against you cowards!"

"Cowards are we?" RedVegiemon questioned as he went over to Cody with a menacing glare in his eyes, "I think I'll make you my personal punching bag like I did to that blue furry fuzz ball with the unicorn horn over there. I promise to leave a few of your bones intact by the time I'm done softening your attitude!"

"Stay away from Cody!" Yolei and Armadillomon warned at the same time despite being tied up themselves.

"Wait your turns!" RedVegiemon replied, "I'll beat you guys half to death in a minute!"

"Well I'm not one for waiting!" Veemon retorted, **"V-Headbutt!"**

The blue dragon launched himself at the Champion Digimon and knocked him away from Cody.

"He got free!" one of the Vegiemon said stating the obvious.

"But how!?" another Vegiemon asked in disbelief.

"Never mind that! Get him!" yelled a third Vegiemon before he and his companion Vegiemon rushed at Veemon. The dragon Digimon took on the rookie Digimon coming at him, and knocked them away from him while dodging some of their attacks. Veemon was stalling for time as Davis was still working on freeing his hands from the same rope tied around his hands.

"That was a dirty trick you damn lizard!" RedVegiemon growled.

"Dragon!" Veemon corrected, "I'm a dragon!" Veemon then warned, "Now surrender or suffer my wrath!"

"I'll kill you first as your partner watches in despair!" RedVegiemon answered.

"I take it that means I'm in for a show before dying," Davis remarked in sarcasm as he felt his hands nearly getting free.

"Davis really!?" Kari shouted in disbelief at how placid and cynical Davis could be about the idea of him and Veemon being killed.

"This isn't a time for dark humor!" Matt rebuked despite the pain he was bearing as it was slowly subsiding.

"Why not?" Davis replied with a shrug, "They intend to kill me before the day's out anyway."

"You're right about that much!" RedVegiemon before he returned his attention back to Veemon, "But let's start with you," RedVegiemon opened his mouth and shouted, **"Red Hot Submachine Gun!"** RedVegiemon launched explosive carrots from out his mouth straight into Veemon's direction. Veemon however managed to dodge the explosive attacks just before they could strike him. The carrots detonated by blow off small parts of the ground with every impact creating a small dust screen as a result.

 _'I'll be damned to let him use me as his personal punching bag like he did in my first life!'_ Veemon thought as he took off running through the smoke screen with RedVegiemon in hot pursuit of him while the other Vegiemon stayed behind to guard to remained captured group.

 _'C'mon!'_ Davis growled mentally while still working on freeing his hands as he rubbed the weakening rope harder against the sharp rock as it was tearing off little by little, _'Snap off my hands already!'_

"Get back here and accept your death with some dignity!" RedVegiemon yelled, **"Poison Ivy!"**

RedVegiemon extending his two tendrils and launched them at Veemon in an effort to wrap them around him and squeeze him with them. Veemon just barely evaded the tendrils as he leaped out of the way of the attack. The blue dragon Digimon saw that he was getting closer to the control spire and knew he had to lure RedVegiemon to it. Turned to his enemy, Veemon challenged, "Are you telling me that's all you got!?" Veemon took off running as fast as he could towards the control spire.

"I'll beat you to death instead!" RedVegiemon proclaimed, **"Red Thorns!"**

RegVegiemon launched his spiked balled fists straight at Veemon in hopes to strike him from behind as the reptilian Digimon continued running. Veemon was knocked off balance as the attack struck the ground just behind him, causing him to fall to the ground. Before he could get up, RedVegiemon quickly wrapped his tendrils tightly around the targeted Digimon and lifted him off the ground.

"Oh no!" Cody cried out with fear.

"Draco!" Gatomon shouted after seeing what happened to Veemon.

"You're not all talk now, are you?" RedVegiemon mocked as he began constricting and squeezing the life out of Veemon. Veemon grimaced and growled as he felt the crushing pressure of the tendrils around his body. A moment later, RedVegiemon slammed Veemon down to the ground hard while keeping his continuous constricting tendrils wrapped out him.

"This is the end of the line for you!" RedVegiemon stated, only for him to suddenly feeling a measure of resistance against his tendrils, "What!?"

Veemon was summoning Cyberdramon's strength from within his body and converting it into physical strength. Moments later, Veemon broke free from the tendrils much to everyone's shock.

"He broke free!" RedVegiemon exclaimed, "How can this be possible!"

Veemon didn't reply as he grabbed both tendrils tightly and with Cyberdramon's power, pulled RedVegiemon off the ground and swung him around fast in circles. After building up enough momentum, Veemon fiercely threw the screaming RedVegiemon directly into the control spire, having him crash brutally into it as the impact created a considerable crater into it. Before RedVegiemon could fall out of the crater and down to the ground…

 **"V-Headbutt!"** Veemon yelled as he charged and rammed his horned head into RedVegiemon, plunging him further into the now heavily damaged control spire as he gave the viral vegetable Digimon additional injuries. It went without say that RedVegiemon was in a world of pain and the control spire looked ready to collapse. Veemon pulled away allowing the wounded RedVegiemon to fall to the ground flat on his face.

"Did you see that!?" Armadillomon asked in amazement.

"Veemon is indeed a most formidable Digimon," Hawkmon commented as he was watching the turn of events unfold, "Even as a Rookie he possesses enough strength to rival a Champion Digimon."

"Veemon's holding back," Gatomon enlightened, which caused everyone to look at her oddly.

"What do you mean?" Kari implored.

"The only reason why RedVegiemon is allowed to live is because of the Dark Ring that's around his body which is controlling him. Otherwise Veemon would have finished him off already."

The rope tied around Davis' hands finally broke off, freeing his hands.

"Finally," Davis said lowly as he retrieved his D3 from his pocket and threw his hand into the air with his D3 held up, "Veemon digivolve!"

"Veemon digivolve to…ExVeemon!"

"Gabumon digivolve to…Garurumon!"

"Veemon digivolved without the use of armor digivolution!" Yolei said in amazement.

"Gabumon also digivolved!" Matt pointed out, "It's because of the conspire spire, it's heavily damaged."

Garurumon growled as he turned his attention to the Vegiemon.

 **"Howling Blaster!"** Garurumon roared being spewing blue, high-temperature flames from his mouth and into their direction. The Vegiemon futilely tried to run from the attack but were completely overtaken by the flames. The dark rings around them as a result were fragmented and burst apart into many particles, releasing the Vegiemon from their control. While Garurumon was taking care of them, Davis was untying and freeing Matt and the rest of his team.

 **"Vee-Laser!"** ExVeemon shouted out as the marks on his chest glowed before a large V shaped blast of energy that crashed into the control spire. The blast destroyed the remaining foundation of the control spire, causing it to collapse to the ground as an energy field surged around it as it was toppling down. After the control spire's total collapse, ExVeemon tore off the dark ring around the unconscious RedVegiemon, thus freeing him from the Digimon Emperor's power.

ExVeemon made his way back to Davis and the others.

"That battle didn't last long at all," ExVeemon commented, "RedVegiemon didn't even give me so much as a challenge."

"You thrashed him brutally while you were still a Rookie Digimon," Davis reminded, "I don't see how much of a fight he could have given you in your Champion form."

"Point taken," ExVeemon agreed.

"Hey you guys!" male voice called out. Everyone turned to the path to see Tai, Izzy, Agumon and Tentomon making their way up the mountain with some Gazimon and Gutsumon in their company hurrying to meet Davis and the others.

"Are you guys alright?" Tai asked.

"Everyone's fine and the threat is over," Davis confirmed before getting a neutral look, "At least for now."

Tai, Izzy, Agumon and Tentomon looked to see that Gabumon had digivolved to Garurumon.

"Your Digimon managed to digivolve to Garurumon!" Tai said while looking at Matt's partner.

"This was made possible after Veemon took out and destroyed the control spire," Garurumon explained.

"Speaking of Veemon," Izzy asked, "Where is he?"

"Over here!" ExVeemon said, "But in this form, I'm ExVeemon."

Tai, Izzy and their Digimon approached the humanoid looking dragon and took a good look at him.

"So this is Veemon's Champion form," Izzy acknowledged.

"Pretty cool right? I'm a lean mean butt kicking machine!" ExVeemon stated while flexing his muscles.

"Don't let it go your head Draco," Gatomon berated while secretly checking him out.

"I wouldn't dream of it Tigress," ExVeemon said before he stopped posing.

"Draco? Tigress?" Davis repeated.

"It's my pet name that Veemon gave me," Gatomon clarified, "And Draco is the pet name I gave Veemon."

"Ah that's sweet," Kari commented, "You call him Draco and he calls you Tigress."

"I can understand Veemon calling you "Tigress" but I don't understand why you call him Draco," Armadillomon remarked.

"It's in reference to his dramon ancestor who's said to be the progenitor of all dramon Digimon, Dracomon," Gatomon explained.

"Dracomon?" Agumon repeated, "I never knew such a Digimon existed."

"He did thousands of years ago," ExVeemon said, "All pure dragon Digimon like myself descended from him, even those considered to be mythical like me."

"But you're not a dramon type Digimon as ExVeemon, are you?" Izzy questioned as Veemon's Champion form wasn't a dramon, _'Does that mean he would only become a dramon type if he digivolved to Ultimate or Mega level?'_

"Well no but I'm sure if I could digivolve further I'd become one and my armor digivolution forms are dramon type. Plus, while in this form and in my lower forms, I'm still a dragon," ExVeemon said before he glowed and reverted back to his Rookie form.

"Veemon," one of the Gutsumon said, "We heard rumors that you have the ability to assimilate Digimon. A forbidden ability we thought was lost thousands of years ago."

"Is that true?" another Gutsumon asked.

"I inherited Digimon assimilation from my ancestor Dracomon," Veemon revealed, but his tone then turned somber, "But it's not something I like to talk about since that ability is extremely feared by all Digimon which was why all those ancient Digimon who had this ability were wiped out with genocide. I was speared that condemnation because I was sealed away before that mass extermination took place. I'm the only known Digimon assimilator left, but the last thing I want is for you and other Digimon to fear me as a potential monster who'll repeat history and bring back those dark ages."

"Veemon we don't see you as a monster like the Digimon Emperor is," one of the Gutsumon assured, "Plus you wouldn't be partnered with the chosen golden child of Miracles if you were to become such a horrific creature. The fact that you were spared means that you were trusted to use and guard that power wisely, so we'll trust you with your judgment and control of that power."

"Thanks guys for your encouragement," Veemon thanked happily, "I mean that, thank you."

Gatomon saw that Veemon was secretly carrying a measure anxieties and self-doubts with his assimilation power. When she recalled how she looked at Veemon with hesitation and fear after he resorted to assimilation to save her from those Devidramon, Gatomon felt a measure of guilt and shame.

 _'I owe Draco an apology,'_ Gatomon realized as she made it her aim privately apologize to Veemon later before the day was over. As the Digimon were conversing together, Matt made his way over to Davis.

"Hey Davis," Matt asked, "Can I have a word with you in private? There's something I've been meaning to talk with you about."

"Really, now?" Davis asked.

"It's nothing bad or anything," Matt said, "But I feel that as your predecessor of the symbol of Friendship that I ought to at least offer some helpful words to you."

TK had told Matt about Davis possessing the digi-egg of Friendship right after he and Kari found their respective digi-eggs. Seeing that Matt wanted a private discussion with him, Davis followed Matt and walked off to the side with him away from the others and out of hearing range.

"So Matt," Davis started off, "What's on your mind that you want to discuss with me?"

"Besides us being holders of the symbol of Friendship," Matt said, "We both have other traits in common."

"Like?" Davis asked.

"We both have love for music and playing stringed instruments," Matt pointed out. Davis knew instantly what Matt was talking about and from whom he found out.

"Jun told you, huh?" Davis deduced.

"She did," Matt confirmed as a smile formed on his face, "And I was serious when I said that she admires your intelligence, skills and talents with the violin, and that she sees you as her inspiration. You're the reason why she started practicing playing the guitar in the first place and why she tries so hard to always get better. She's hoping to see you acknowledge her for trying to be like you."

"Jun really feels and thinks that about me?" Davis asked in surprise, "Why didn't she say anything?"

"Why didn't you ever say anything to your friends about your talents in playing the violin?" Matt reasoned, which caught Davis completely off guard as he looked directly Matt who continued, "You're wondering why Jun never told you the truth behind her feelings towards you as her younger brother, yet you yourself never told your friends the truth behind your gift in playing the violin. Don't you think that would make you a hypocrite?"

Despite his mental age and maturity, Davis felt like a child being counseled and humbled while listening to Matt's words to him.

"Like you Davis," Matt continued, "I also had a lot to learn with regards to opening up and sharing with my friends and others about my talents and love for music, singing and entertaining. I had to learn that I shouldn't hide and bury my talents but use them to inspire others to reach out and unlock and reveal their potential. Music and singing always have powerful effects on people's lives whether for the good or the bad, which is why I always have a love for music and singing. You playing the violin had a major impact on Jun's life and I'm sure it'll have an impact on TK and the rest of your friends' lives if you open up and share it with them. As a fellow musician, I'll appreciate it if you let me listen and watch how you play. So how about it?"

Davis allowed Matt's speech sink in and process as he gave serious consideration to what he was listening to. Matt stayed quiet as he 0watched Davis think things through. It wasn't long till Matt got a reply.

"I hid my love and skills with the violin because I was only using that talent as personal therapy to help me cope with my personal stresses, frustrations and honoring the memories of the Digimon I led who died and sacrificed themselves in helping me and Veemon stop Millenniummon," Davis revealed, but then said, "But after listening and hearing you out, it's time I revise my reasons for loving and playing the violin. Thanks for talking some sense into me. It just comes to show that as the so-called child prodigy, I'm not above receiving advice and encouragement from others when needed."

"That's what friends are for," Matt replied, "I would know."

"Hey!" Tai called out as he, Agumon and the rest of the crew approached them, "What are you guys talking about?"

"We were just having a moment of bonding Tai," Matt said, "Something between the bearers of Friendship."

"Sure," Tai remarked, "In any case, the team has been doing quite well in handling themselves without too much help from us."

"Tai," Matt countered, "They've been doing good with barely any help from us older ones."

"Rub it in will you," Tai snorted. Izzy went over to the control spire and examined its remains with Tentomon hovering over him.

"I might be able to set up a program to map out the locations of the control spires in whichever region in the Digital World we'd have to travel to," Izzy theorized.

"You can actually do that?" Yolei asked as she approached him.

"It'll take some time, but I'm sure I'll be able to devise something useful for us to use," Izzy stated.

"Terrific!" Davis said, "And as leader, I'll entrust the completion of that project to you Izzy. I expect great results for the benefit of the team and mission."

"He already said he would develop the software Davis," TK said with a frown.

"I know," Davis shot back and grinned, "But it sounded cooler when I made it sound like it was an official mission."

"Oh brother," TK groaned.

"Lighten up and have a sense of humor," Davis remarked, "In any case, let's return back to the Real World so Izzy can start working on his idea of developing a program that could help up in locating the control spires in the DigiWorld."

As the group started to depart for the scene, Ken was watching the whole event play out in front of his monitor screen.

"Davis and Veemon destroyed your control spire and liberated the village you tried to occupy," Wormmon said without the slightest disappointment.

"It doesn't matter," Ken remarked, "That village was filled with weak and useless Digimon anyway. I'd have sooner use them as lab rats. But this small victory for Davis changes nothing in the slightest as each battle serves to bring him and Veemon ever closer to their inevitable demise."

* * *

 **(Two Days Later)**

It was a nice autumn afternoon, and currently both the older and younger DigiDestined were assembling together at the park, the spot where the "older" DigiDestined would usually meet at for an important meeting. Kari, TK, Yolei and Cody also brought their Digimon along with them though Patamon, Hawkmon and Armadillomon were in their In-training forms while Gatomon remained in her Champion form. Patamon was Tokomon, Hawkmon was Poromon and Armadillormon was Upamon. Davis soon arrived with DemiVeemon after he saw that everyone was now present and accounted for. Tai took his seat next to Sora while Matt stood to the side alongside with TK and Cody. Yolei and Kari were sitting on the same bench while Joe and Izzy were sitting on concrete circular platforms high enough to be used as seats.

"OK Davis," Tai said, "We're all here, so what's this meeting you called for all about?"

"Did something happen that you need us to know?" Kari asked.

"Actually," Davis said, "I summoned this meeting because I felt you guys deserve a special treat for working so hard not only at school but also in defending the Digital World."

"A special treat?" Joe asked quizzically.

"Davis where are you getting at with this?" TK asked, "Exactly what did you call this meeting for?"

"Like I said before," Davis said, "I'm going to give you guys to a special treat, from leader to teammates, friends and partners."

Before anyone else could question him further, Davis walked off and retrieved an object he was hiding behind one of the playground obstacles. What everyone saw Davis carrying back with him was clearly a case of some sort. A case Yolei and Cody immediately recognized.

"He actually brought it with him," Yolei said in surprised, causing Kari to look at her questionably.

"Davis brought what with him?" Kari asked, "Yolei, what did Davis bring with him?"

As if to answer her inquiry, Davis set his case down in front of the group before he unzipped and opened it. What Davis retrieved from the case surprised everyone but DemiVeemon, Yolei, Cody and Matt.

"A violin!?" Kari asked with a speechless expression.

"Are you for real?" Tai remarked with a deadpan look.

"When did you start playing the violin Davis?" TK asked.

"I'm sure you'd like to know," Davis replied as he positioned his instrument of choice over his left shoulder with his bow in his right hand. After positioning his left hand under the head of the violin with his left fingers positioned over the strings, Davis placed his bow over the strings at the center of his instrument. Taking a breath, Davis closed his eyes and visualize a scenery of a gardenlike park filled with blooming cherry blossom trees and other beautiful flowers and plants with a running river flowing ever so peacefully through it under the starlit night skies and shining full moon. With the desired image in mind, Davis with his eyes still closed, said, "I call this rendition 'The Moonlight Above The Cherry Blossoms'."

And with that said, Davis started playing his violin with grace and fluidity. As he played, other DigiDestined listened quietly while feeling tranquil and positive emotions emanating from his musical presentation. It gave them feelings of ease as it relaxed their minds and souls from all their troubles.

"I'm impressed!" Matt complimented, "Davis plays like he's one with the violin!"

"It's truly a symphony to be appreciated," Joe commented, "I'm amazed he came up with this wordless piece he's treating us to."

TK, Yolei and Cody listened and watched Davis appreciatively, as did the Digimon. Cody looked at Davis with deep respect and admiration while looking at Davis as a role model to follow. TK was completely surprised by Davis' talent with the violin, but he was even more surprised that Kari herself was completely unaware of it. Kari, as surpirsed as she was, had a smile on her face while admiring Davis with many thoughts racing through her mind.

 _'Again Davis, just when I thought I had you figured out, you've blown me away with a new surprise about you!'_ Kari thought, _'This is a side of you I never saw before in all the years we've known each other. Why did you hide this from me? What else about yourself are you hiding from me? I know this; I'm going to find out!'_

As Davis' solo orchestra was taking place, some of the students from Davis' school and class were passing by when they heard the music being played. They looked into the park and saw who was playing the violin.

"Hey, isn't that Davis?" one of the girls identified.

"It is!" another girl confirmed.

"I never knew the famed school genius was also a musician," one boy remarked.

"C'mon let's check this out!" a third girl suggested as she and the rest of the crew hurried inside the park where Davis and the others were. A minute later Tai, Sora and the other DigiDestined saw more students joining them to listen and watch Davis play his violin. Many of them, predominantly the girls, even pulled out their mobile phones and started recording Davis, who presently was too enthralled to notice his growing audience. TK, Cody and the rest of the gang looked to see a considerable number of classmates were now present among them for a show that was originally meant for just DigiDestined and the Digimon. Yolei and Kari also noticed the dreamily looks the girls were giving Davis.

"He's so cool!" one of the girls praised.

"He's a living dream!" another girl said.

"I wish my boyfriend could do this for me," a girl among the audience commented. Kari and Yolei decided to ignore the girls and focus on Davis who seemed to have drifted into his own world as he continued playing his symphony. It wasn't until another ten minutes when Davis elegantly concluded his symphony, only to be met with an applause from an audience larger than originally intended.

"When did all of you show up?" Davis asked with perplexed expression.

"While you were too into your performance to take notice of them," Sora pointed out.

"I didn't expect them to stop by and watch to be honest," Davis admitted as Kari, Yolei and others approached him.

"What did you expect while you were play that soothing and melodious piece that attracted onlookers?" Joe questioned.

"Great performance Davis!" Matt congratulated with a thumbs up, "I'm sure Jun would be proud if she were here to watch!"

Kari patted Davis on his left shoulder thus gaining his attention.

"That was a lovely symphony you played Davis," Kari complimented, "You never told me you play the violin!"

"I knew he did," Yolei said victoriously as she pulled out her phone and showed Kari her wallpaper featuring Davis playing his violin for her, "Though I found out by an absolute fluke a few weeks ago, I was the first girl Davis gave a personal and private performance to, and in his bedroom to boot."

"What!?" Kari replied in disbelief as she looked at the phone screen, with several girls among them now whispering to each other about what that could mean. Davis now had a nervous look on his face seeing how rumors could be started up from that misunderstanding. When Davis saw the picture, his mind tried to calculate at what point could Yolei have taken a picture of him playing his violin for her.

 _'When and how could Yolei have taken a picture of me playing my violin for her!?'_ Davis wondered, but then remembered something, _'Wait a minute!'_

* * *

 **(Flashback; Nearly Three Weeks Ago At The Motomiya Residence)**

As Yolei was preparing her things, her mobile phone chimed a bell indicating that she received a text message. She took out her phone and read the message.

"Eeehh!?" Yolei squealed as the same blush on her face from before came back when she saw what her older sister sent her. Davis turned to her and asked, "Are you alright Yolei?"

"I'm fine! I'm fine!" Yolei quickly assured with a nervous laugh. Davis looked at her questionably and implored, "Are you sure? Because your face is all red."

"It's nothing really," Yolei said while trying to hide her nervousness, "It's just as I said before about my older sister doing things to get to me."

"Oh?" Davis replied, "In that case, I'll have to assume that whatever it was she sent you must be something between you two that I'm sure you don't want to talk about."

"You can say that," Yolei agreed.

"Whatever," Davis remarked with a shrug before going back to what he was doing…

* * *

 **(End Flashback)**

 _'It was Chizuru!'_ Davis realized, _'She snapped a picture while my guard was down and sent it straight to Yolei that very same hour!'_

Kari turned to Davis and interrogated, "You gave Yolei a private performance?! You never did that for me and I'm your best friend!"

"Yolei found out that I can play the violin completely by accident as originally I wasn't going to tell anyone," Davis explained in his defense.

"So you originally had no intentions of sharing that with me?" Kari asked while feeling hurt with her right hand unconsciously placed over her left breast corresponding to where her heart was, "But why?"

"Kari, I can explain everything clearly if give me a chance to later," Davis reasoned patiently, "Plus Yolei only asked me to give her a sample of what I can play after she found out."

"But you did so in the privacy of your bedroom!" Kari retorted indignantly. Davis groaned uncomfortably seeing the mess he found himself in as the other students were still whispering to each other about what they were hearing while looking him, Yolei and Kari.

"Davis is my study partner Kari and I do spend more time at his place than you do," Yolei reminded with a confident smile, "And since I'm working to help him achieve higher, it was only fitting that I was the first girl he serenaded."

"What was that?" Kari shot back angrily before a heated argument between her and Yolei broke out in front of everyone. During the argument, Kari questioned Davis about anything else happening between him and Yolei while Yolei was telling Kari that whatever she does with Davis in private was none of her business. The coming gossips that would possibly ensue from this gave Davis much discomfort unless he found a way to shut it down fast.

"Shouldn't we help Davis?" Cody asked.

"You want Kari and Yolei to turn their anger on us?" TK replied, "I value my safety."

Tokomon could have sworn he heard Gatomon mutter "coward" under her breath about TK's reluctance to get involved in calming Kari and Yolei down.

"Kari is reminding me of myself and my temper at that age," Tai remarked empathetically as he shook his head after seeing the shameful scene his sister and Yolei were making.

"Both of them remind me of you and Matt at that age," Sora remarked, only for Tai and Matt to frown at her knowing she was right. Soon, Matt sighed since this outcome was unexpected and he wondered if he'd have to make it up to Davis in some way.

Tai, Sora and the rest of the DigiDestined and Digimon looked at Davis with sympathy as he looked back at them with a look that pleaded "Save Me!"

"Kari, Yolei!" Cody beseeched, "Please, I'm sure that all this is just one big misunderstanding that-"

"STAY OUT OF THIS!" Kari and Yolei shouted simultaneously at Cody, startling the boy.

"I warned you they'd turn their anger on us," TK said sympathetically, "Davis is on his own on this one. But being the chosen golden child, I'm sure Davis will find a way to pull off a miracle to calm Kari and Yolei down like he did at the arcade shop the other day."

Davis sighed seeing that he wasn't going to get any outside help though Cody tried much to Davis' appreciation. Having enough of Yolei's and Kari's senseless bickering, Davis decided to put a stop to it and fix matters himself.

* * *

 **(Back In The Digital World)**

Ken, after returning home from school, was back in his monitor room in his base while tossing a dagger up and down through the air. His eyes were glued to the screens showing all of the battles Davis and Veemon came out victorious in despite the close calls they had; from his battle with the three Monochromon, the ambush at the canyon, now the recent battle against RedVegiemon and his hordes. And in the recent battle, Davis and Veemon, despite their capture, still managed to free themselves and ultimately save everyone with very little help from Garurumon who merely handled a pack of Rookie Digimon while Veemon solo'd a Champion Digimon with just brute strength while destroying the control spire at the same time.

"Veemon was strong enough to take out a Champion Digimon while remaining in his Rookie form," Ken analyzed, "Then again I shouldn't be surprised by his power considering his past and the fact RedVegiemon was a weakling compared to other Champions. And I know that Davis and Veemon are the ones responsible for the destruction of many of my control spires in the past two weeks."

Catching his dagger, Ken angrily threw it at the monitor screen featuring Davis' face, damaging the screen instantly as web structured cracks and sparks of electricity through the monitor screen resulted from the impact. Wormmon walked into to see the damage done from Ken's rage.

"I'm assuming you'll want that monitor repaired as soon as possible," Wormmon remarked. Ken turned from the screen and glared at Wormmon.

"If you know that stupid," Ken snarled, "Then see to it that it gets done now!"

Ken started walking out of his chamber with his fists balled up. As he reached the door...

"And where are you going?" Wormmon implored.

"To clear my head for a bit," Ken said, "I can't plan my next move against Davis and Veemon if anger clouds my judgment. Now leave me alone and get to work with the repairs!"

With that said, Ken exited his monitoring chamber, leaving Wormmon alone.

"At least he didn't kick me and crack his whip on me like last time," Wormmon commented with some measure of relief. As Wormmon assessed the damage done to the monitor, he wondered back to when Davis and Ken were teammates and partners. During their first adventure together they looked out and protected each other and had a bond with each other like brothers. Wormmon felt deeply grieved as he wondered what could have gone so wrong to make Ken betray and turn on Davis to the point of wanting to kill him so badly…

* * *

 **As Wormmon reminisce on the past, the unknown future is still on the horizon as Ken continues to look for ways to bring about Davis' and Veemon's undoing. Will Ken succeed? And besides having problems dealing with Ken, Davis is clearly having girl problems as Kari and Yolei continue to argue and fight for his time, attention and affections. What will result from this? Find out next time on Digimon Epoch.**


	7. Chapter Seven: Jenga

**Chapter Seven: "Jenga"**

* * *

(Three Days Later)

Davis was in the computer lab by himself sitting in front of the designated computer station used for the Digi-port. Currently he was talking with a Digimon on the screen who was evidently discussing some rather important business that no one else but Veemon and Gennai were aware of.

 _'So how's everything coming along?'_ Davis typed on the computer screen and a few second later he received a reply from the Digital World.

 _'There are a couple of things that are still being worked on'_ the unidentified Digimon responded through the screen with type words, _'But they will be taken care of with nothing for you to worry about.'_

 _'Excellent,'_ Davis replied through his texted message, _'I'll have Veemon make the final inspection and he'll report back to me with his assessment.'_

 _'Understood,'_ the Digimon typed, _'With that I'll take my leave and depart for now.'_

 _'Alright then,'_ Davis replied, _'Until next time.'_

Davis signed off and disconnected his chat with the Digimon. Davis then deactivated the computer and leaned back on his seat before he sighed and rubbed his temple. After the last conflict with Ken, he had been having some trouble sleeping due to his mind going through what felt like hundreds of reasons for Ken's increasing aggressive tactics and actions. The thoughts plagued him like a sickness that refused to leave and even after hours of thinking, the answer never came to him because he didn't have the clues to figure it out.

He turned to look at the clock and saw that it was for him to leave. So he gathered his things together to leave the room. After leaving the computer room, Davis made his way to his locker to get the rest of his things. Upon arriving, he found Kari standing by his locker as she was clearly waiting for his arrival.

"Hey Kari," Davis greeted with a friendly tone, "How you've been? You haven't spoken or walked with me to school and back for the past few days. Are you still upset at me?"

Kari nervously fiddled with her indexed fingers and apologetically replied, "Davis…about my behavior since that incident…," Kari lowered her head and face, and then gave him a low bow and apologized, "I'm so sorry. I made a complete fool of myself with Yolei and was too embarrassed and ashamed to approach you. I allowed my jealous anger to get the better of me. Since that day, I was afraid of how you'd look at me, but I'll understand if your view and respect for me dropped because of it."

"Kari," Davis assured, "It's water under the bridge or over the dam. You don't need to concern yourself about it and my view of you wasn't affected in anyway. I'm just sorry that I kept my skills in playing the violin to myself and not telling you and the others about it, which created the ground floor for that misunderstanding in the first place. So let's forgive each other and patch things up between us. What do you say?"

"I'd love that very much," Kari agreed happily as she rose back up and moved and allowed Davis to get the rest of his things from his locker. When that was done, Kari, while controlling her jealousy, asked, "Is Yolei coming over to your place to have her study session with you?"

"Yolei won't be coming by," Davis said.

"No?" Kari asked, though truthfully she was more relieved than she was letting on.

"Not today," Davis said, "I called off today's study session telling her that there were some important matters I had to take care of today. I didn't go into details about it but she understood."

"Oh," Kari replied, "So then you still have things you have to take care of and now you have to go."

"Actually I'm finished with most of what I had to take care of for now," Davis said, "So I'm pretty much free to-"

"How about coming by my place then?" Kari suggested with a hopeful smile on her face, "Tai won't be home as he'll be out on another date with Sora and my folks won't be back till late tonight. I practically have the place to myself and I wouldn't mind the company."

 _'Specifically, my company. Kari's capitalizing on Yolei's absence and having the apartment to herself,'_ Davis thought, "Alone with a boy?" Davis teased with a grin on his face, "Alright Kari, I'm down for whatever fun things you have in mind. There's "Spin The Bottle," "The Pocky Test"."

"Funny," Kari replied, though secretly she wanted to do the pocky test with him, "Actually, I wanted to make it up to you and since there'll be no one else around, we can spend the rest of the day hanging out together, especially since neither of us have any homework today much to my happy relief."

"When you put it that way," Davis said, "I'm down for it!"

"Great!" Kari cheered, "C'mon then!"

Davis and Kari left the school together and started on their way to her home. During their walk, Davis explained to Kari about when he started playing the violin and why he kept it a secret until a few days ago. Kari listened quietly for the most part and spoke only when she needed further clarity on something.

"I had no idea the deaths of those Digimon affected you that much Davis," Kari said, "I can only imagine how I would have been affected if I were in your position. I doubt I'd have handled it better than you."

"Well, be happy you don't have to live with that burden like I have to," Davis replied, "While I can't change what happened, I learned to cope with it instead of living my life as a hapless emo who locked himself in his room."

"A depressing emo-Davis wouldn't be fun or enjoyable for me to be around," Kari said.

"No indeed," Davis agreed and then remarked, "But even if I did become depressing emo-Davis, I'm sure that you would find some way to help me change back to my old self again since it's in your nature to help your friends and those you care about. And since I'm your childhood friend, knowing you, you'd go the extra mile just to see me smile again."

Kari blushed brightly as a genuine smile formed on her lips as she asked, "Do you really mean that Davis?"

"Have I ever given you reasons to doubt me Kari?" Davis replied, "I wouldn't tell you something like that if I wasn't sincere."

"Thank you Davis," Kari said, "I really mean that. Thank you."

"You're welcome," Davis said and pointed out, "Looks like we arrived."

Seeing that they arrived at her apartment complex, the two DigiDestined made their way inside and up to her family's apartment. Entering the apartment, no one was home as Kari said earlier. They took their sneakers off at the door and entered the apartment with Kari closing and locking the door.

"Home alone with a boy Kari?" Davis teased, "What will your overprotective brother and parents say?"

"Please Davis," Kari replied unfazed, "My brother and parents have known you for years and they know you enough to trust you. Besides I'm sure you can handle my brother anyway."

"Glad to see that your confidence in me isn't misplaced," Davis remarked.

"By the way Davis," Kari said as she decided to change the subject, "I have a cake I made for you that I wanted to give to you. I had to keep it from Tai after he saw that I was making for you."

"A cake for me?" Davis asked, "Really?" Davis asked with a smile of anticipation, "Well, I'm not one to turn down free treats when being offered."

"Well…," Kari said, "It's more of an apology offering in connection with the other day after my outburst and argument with Yolei embarrassed you in front of everybody."

"You didn't have to go that far for me Kari," Davis said, "It wasn't something to worry about."

"My mother helped me with the cake," Kari added. Suddenly Davis froze in his tracks.

"She helped you make it…OK now I'm officially worried," Davis remarked as he gave her a look of dread and fear, "I think I should go bring a first aid kit."

"Davis relax," Kari snorted and then assured, "She didn't add any of her 'special' smoothie ingredients into it. I promise you."

"Oh thank goodness." Davis exhaled in relief.

"Anyway Davis," Kari said, "You have nothing to worry about. Now go sit in the living room while I get the cake for you."

Davis went and did as requested while Kari went and got the cake for him. He was sitting on the carpeted floor at the table. Kari in the meanwhile hurried to get two glass cups and milk from the refrigerator. After retrieving the desired items, she went into the living and walked over to Davis.

"Here's some milk for us," Kari said as she placed the glass cups on the table and poured some milk into them. She then set the container of milk down and said, "I'll go get that cake for you like I promised."

Kari left the living leaving Davis alone again. A couple of minutes went by as Davis noticed that Kari was taking unusually long. Despite this he decided to stay quiet and just wait for her to walk in the living room with the promised cake. A minute later…

"Sorry for keeping you waiting," Kari said as she came and entered the living room with a small round chocolate frosted covered cake in her hand to present to him.

"It wasn't a problem Kari," Davis assured before he noticed a major difference with Kari's new appearance and seeing why she took so long. She switched from her beige shorts to short knee-high jeans that seemed to hug her legs and waist while wearing an open collar pink blouse that showed more of her neck, shoulders and upper back. The blouse itself stopped at her waist just above the pants. Though her hair was short she still made sure that it was neatly brushed.

 _'Kari went and dolled herself up for me,'_ Davis realized, _'She's clearly hinting about what she wanted me over for as I really doubt she'd do this with just any friend.'_

Kari went and set the tray with the cake down on the table in front of them next to the glass cups before sitting closely next to Davis on the carpeted floor.

 _'If I was my old self in this position,'_ Davis thought, _'I definitely doubt I'd have handled myself very well. Knowing my younger self, I mostly likely would have said, 'Screw the cake! I'll just have you Kari!'_

"Here it is!" Kari cheered happily before Davis took a good look at the cake and notice some designs and figures she tried to add to the cake; keyword: tried.

"What's this?" Davis asked as he was pointing to a blue design that looked like a deformed blue-skinned iguana.

"That's Veemon," Kari said before Davis gave a raised eyebrow and pointed to another misshaped figure that looked like a white blob with boxing gloves and asked, "And what is this?"

"That's Gatomon," Kari revealed with a raised eyebrow at his questions.

"And that?" Davis asked after moving his finger to another malformed design that looked like some kind of star.

"The crest of Light," Kari said.

"And this?" Davis asked while pointing to the last misshaped design which looked like the letter "M".

"The crest of Miracles," Kari said, and before she could respond any further, Davis suddenly burst out laughing loudly, with Kari looking at him with a confused look.

"I actually had to quiz you in order to know what they are!" Davis laughed loudly while holding his sides.

"You're mean!" Kari retorted with an embarrassed blush on her face as she started smacking his shoulder through his laughter, "I put a lot heart and effort in making this cake for you, you know!"

Of course, Kari's smacks did nothing to actually hurt Davis as he playfully blocked her smacks.

"I'm sure you did Kari and I appreciate that! " Davis replied as his laughter started calming down, "But I couldn't help but take the opportunity to tease you about its appearance."

Davis took out his mobile phone and snapped a picture of the cake. He then sent the picture to Kari's phone with a chime from her phone indicating that her phone received the picture.

"What's with the picture of the cake and sending it to me?" Kari asked.

"Just a little something for us to remember your kindness by," Davis said, "A reminder of how much you treasure our longtime friendship and bond."

Again Kari found herself blushing and smiling.

"Plus I bet when I show Gatomon and Veemon the cake frost pictures you drew of them on the cake I'll get an even better laugh seeing them whine about how they don't look that fat or something like that," Davis said before snickering as laughter threatened to burst out again.

"DAVIS!" Kari shouted from seeing him about to laugh again.

"I'm sorry," Davis apologized while calming himself again, "It's just kind of funny to me. But if you don't want to then I'll just keep the picture to myself."

"Thanks Davis," Kari said, accepting his apology before she reached out and retrieved the knife and fork on the tray. Cutting a slice out, she presented it to Davis.

"Take a taste," Kari offered before Davis took the slice from her. Taking a bite into the piece, Davis chewed on it and to his surprise, it tasted really good.

"This is really good Kari despite its funny appearance," Davis complimented.

"To tell you the truth," Kari confessed, "This cake was my third attempt after I overcooked and burnt the first two I tried to make. That was why my mom came to help me make this one for you."

"You really felt you had to make it up to me, huh?" Davis asked.

"Davis," Kari reminded with feelings of guilt resurfacing, "I humiliated you in front of my brother, our friends, our Digimon and classmates. When I realized what I did after listening to your explanation, after I got home, spent the whole night crying saying how sorry I was. Tai and my parents did what they could to calm me down and console me but the guilt of how badly I behaved ate me away and I was scared that you'd hate for it. That was why I was afraid to approach you."

"We're human Kari," Davis said, "Even the closest of friends have periods of misunderstandings and fights. But it's up to the individuals to make peace and reconcile with each other. I know there will be times I might do something that'll anger you too and I'm sure I'd have to make things right if I do."

"Hopefully it never comes to that boy genius," Kari said, "But if that does happen-"

"I'll work to fix things like I said," Davis interjected.

"Right," Kari said before cutting another slice of cake.

* * *

(Meanwhile)

Yolei sighed to herself as she was taking a slow pace home. While disappointed that Davis wasn't available for their routine study session, she accepted that it couldn't be helped. She thought back to her dispute with Kari on the day of Davis' violin solo. True, she apologized to Davis about the incident and behaving the way she did, but part of her wished she did more even though Davis said he forgave her and held no ill will against her at all. Yolei was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't take notice of someone approaching her from behind.

"Well now isn't this a surprise," a male voice said as Yolei broke out of her thoughts because she recognized who it was and turned around to see none other than Ken who waved at her.

"Ken?" Yolei said in surprise at seeing Davis' rival here.

"Yolei, is it?" Ken greeted, "How nice to see you again."

"What are you doing here?" Yolei questioned as she didn't expect to see him here.

"I was hoping to run into Davis seeing how you and the others are usually with him," Ken said while looking around, "But I see that you're here all by yourself. What happened to Davis and the rest of your friends?"

"Busy with their own affairs," Yolei answered without going to a lot of details, and then added with disappointment, "I was supposed to meet up with Davis but he cancelled and said he had other things to do today."

"Well then Yolei," Ken offered a smile, "Would you like me to keep you company? You look like you could use someone to talk to and communicate with right now and truth be told I would like to get to you know a little more."

"You're Davis' rival," Yolei reminded with a skeptical look, "You have it out as your ambition to surpass him. I'm aiming to prevent that, so being friends with you would be a contradiction of my objectives."

"You're seeking to help Davis maintain his ranking at 1st place?" Ken replied with a raised eyebrow, "Davis is lucky to have such a pretty girl at his side to academically support him. The very fact that you can actually help my genius rival says a lot about _your_ aptitude and level of intelligence."

"Huh?" Yolei said with a blush across her face as she was caught off guard by Ken's compliments.

"Both Davis and I have been competing for a long time in many things," Ken said, "You being able to help him also means you can help me. In other words, Yolei, you have what it takes to surpass your fellow peers if you truly put your own mind to it. It's not every day I get to meet a girl with royal colored hair whose intelligence complements her beauty which she hides behind her glasses."

Yolei was blushing and stuttering, while trying to think of something to counter Ken on, but words weren't processing. Her mind was finding it difficult to think clearly as she thought about how no guy, not even Davis, had ever complimented her appearance, her intelligence or even her hair.

"Thank you for your kind words Ken," Yolei finally managed to speak, "But…I…"

"Perhaps you may even have the potential to become a rival to the two of us," Ken suddenly mentioned earning a stunned look from Yolei at hearing that, "Granted you would have to study quite a lot but in time you could become our equal which would be a welcomed experience since there's no prodigy girl who comes close to our level."

"Are you serious?" Yolei asked in disbelief at hearing that. She never considered herself to be someone special or gifted. Sure she knew that she was smart as she maintained a B+ to A average but when compared to Davis or Ken she knew she was out of her league. It was like they were the top in class from Harvard or the University of Tokyo while she was just one of the top students in an average high school. Now Ken was saying she could become like him and Davis, someone who was recognized for exceptional talents and intellect.

Ken nodded, "Like I said, you do have some potential. With some work and sharpening you could become greater than you are right now. But I've gotten off topic, so would you care to join me for the afternoon?"

Yolei looked away as she was unsure. While it was true she was feeling a little lonely and bored with none of her friends around right now she wasn't sure about hanging out with the rival of her crush. But then again, why was she being so hesitant in the first place? It's not like Ken was trying to get info from her to help him surpass Davis. Surely he wasn't that kind of guy.

"Is something wrong, you seem to be spacing out?" Ken asked ever politely, "I apologize if I was presumptuous in my speech just now. I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable in any way if you believe that's what I've done."

"I'm alright," Yolei assured, "I'm not upset. It's just that…I'm not used to be complimented."

"I see," Ken suggested, "I'm sure in time that will change, so you don't need to worry too much about that. After all, if it takes a school genius like me to see you for what you're worth, then the other boys are even dumber than they're being credited for."

Yolei was trying to make sense out of what was happening, Sure, Ken complimented her before a few days ago when they and the group were at the arcade store a few days ago. But he was proving to be more charming than before, even as Davis' rival.

"I can understand that I don't know you as well as Davis does," Ken stated and then offered, "But it wouldn't be too much if we just talk for a little bit, would it? We can have a few snacks along the way, my treat. What do you say?"

"I'm just uncertain is all," Yolei admitted. Ken suddenly got a downed look and said, "Well if you're so unsure about it, then maybe I should just leave you be as you seem to be finding my company uncomfortable."

With that Ken turned to leave and be on his way. Yolei immediately lost her hesitation as feelings of guilt overrode all her inner conflict as she reached out to him.

"Ken wait!" Yolei pleaded as her response got him to stop and turned back to look at her as she put on an apologetic look, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have been so rude. You were clearly just trying to cheer me up since I seemed down in the dumps. I'd be happy to hang and talk with you."

"Well then how about we go that way," Ken said while pointing behind Yolei which lead straight ahead passed some city blocks into the more active parts of the city, "I know a nice café we can stop at after a walk."

With that Yolei nodded and started to walk in the direction with Ken behind her by 3 steps. Unknown to her a sinister smirk formed on the edge of Ken's lip.

* * *

(Later; Back At The Kamiya Residence)

Kari and Davis were in the living room playing a "Jenga" game together. But this particular Jenga game was lend out to Tai by one of his male classmates who instructed him to play it specifically with Sora alone in private whenever he got the chance to and with no one else. When Kari heard that from Tai, she never understood why as she never actually opened the box to examine the pieces since she played Jenga before and Tai never told her why either except that he couldn't play the game with her (Kari). All that had done was heighten Kari's curiosity about the game Tai was given and she saw it as her opportunity to find and play it with Davis while Tai and her folks were out of the house.

However, after putting the tower of rectangular blocks together with all of the pieces and carefully taking a piece from out of the assembled tower a turn at a time, Kari and Davis saw that there was more to this particular Jenga game as each piece had a question written onto it. And the questions that were written on them were either private, embarrassing or brazenly bold in nature.

The more they continued to play the game together, the more Davis regretted allowing Kari to sneak through her brother's stuff to find the game and convince him to play it with with her. And so far, they both reluctantly shared and admitted to a number of personal and embarrassing things and secrets about themselves. For example, among the series of questions they answered were:

Where in school Kari saw herself making out passionately with a boy while hoping not to get caught by either the school staff or faculty: she revealed that it would be in the school storage facility; which female teacher Davis thought was sexy and attractive: he admitted that it was their math teacher; Kari being asked when she take showers, which part of her body does she regularly start with first followed by which parts: she explained how she starts soaping and washing her stomach first, then her breasts, arms and back, then her face and neck, followed by her legs and feet, and then her hips, crotch and behind last.

 _'What the hell is with this game!?'_ Davis screamed in his head, _'_ _It's like a torture of humiliation!_ _This Jenga game Tai borrowed from his friend is like one of those adults-only kind of games!'_

 _'_ _I see now why Tai was warned not to play this game with me. These shameless and inappropriate questions aren't to be asked between siblings,_ _'_ Kari thought and then rationalized with a hidden grin, _'But on the plus side I get to find out some dirt on Davis,'_ after her mental musing was over, Kari said, "Alright Davis, it's your turn now."

Davis went and carefully removed a random block from the middle of the tower. Looking at the question, Davis read aloud, "When and where did you get sexually aroused at the wrong time?"

The look that appeared on Davis' face made it clear that he didn't want to answer that.

"Spill it Davis!" Kari demanded.

"No!" Davis resisted.

"No?" Kari retorted and continued, "Excuse me? A while ago, I had to explain to you in private and sensitive details how I take showers which was embarrassing enough! Now play fair and answer the question you got!"

 _'I can't believe I agreed to play this game,'_ Davis thought with a frown, _'I should have examined this game more thoroughly first. Come to think of it, I don't recall Tai ever being given this game to borrow from his classmate in my previous life. This is quite a drastic chang-'_

"Today Davis," Kari chimed, breaking Davis out of his private musing. Davis looked back at her and asked, "I don't have a choice, do I?"

"No!" Kari said, "So let's hear it!"

Davis frowned after seeing the look on Kari's face. It was as though they were confessing their dirty little secrets to each other and part of Kari seemed to be enjoying it from what Davis could tell. Sighing, Davis finally confessed, "It was a month ago when I was in an overcrowded express train heading to Chiba during the afternoon rush hours. I didn't have any room to move as everyone was pressing up against me. And just when I thought matters couldn't get any worse, a high school girl whom I'm sure was 15 years old rushed into the train car I was in and squeezed herself all the way inside. The predicament I was left in as a result was that she was directly in front of me with her butt pressing and grinding up against my crotch."

 _'And the fact that she was really pretty with long dark hair and smelled nice too only added to my predicament,'_ Davis privately thought and continued, "Feeling myself getting hard, I tried to move off her but to no avail, especially after someone behind me pushed up against my back and pushed me further into the older teen girl, causing me to unintentionally press more into her butt. The train moving and rocking back and forth didn't help as I felt my erection continuously grinding up against her butt with my damn hormones driving me crazy.

"I desperately tried to think of things to do mentally to keep my mind distracted in order to get my erection to go away, but nothing was working. All the while, I was afraid that the girl would yell and accuse me of sexual harassment but thankfully that didn't happen as understandably there was no place for me to move to. It was a long ride and by the time I got to my station stop in Chiba, I got out of the train and ran out to a nearby restroom to relieve and calm my arousal down," Davis concluded and then privately thought, _'The constant stimulation I was experiencing in that situation almost caused me to cum inside my pants.'_

Kari's face was cherry red after listening and hearing Davis' story. After a moment of silence, Kari burst into a loud fit of laughter while pointing at Davis. Davis for his part snorted with an annoyed look on his face.

"You took the Tokyo express train during the afternoon rush hours!?" Kari laughed, "What on earth were you thinking!? That train line is one of several that's notorious for overcrowded train problems during that time of day! Even I don't take it because there have been reports of perverts using that situation to feel up on unsuspecting females!"

"Well I assure you that wasn't my intention at all as I was heading to Chiba for a chess tournament!" Davis replied in his defense, "Believe me, I learned from that mistake and made sure to avoid getting into another situation like that again."

"I'm happy to hear that," Kari said, "Because I would have never forgiven you or talk to you again if you were that kind of person."

"Whatever," Davis shot back, "You should know me better than that Kari. Now take you turn."

Kari went and did as she was requested to. The next piece Kari pulled out however give her a measure of discomfort as she read allowed the question written on it that she had to answer.

"What would you do after you got dumped by your boyfriend/girlfriend or lover?" Kari said as she read the question for Davis to hear.

"C'mon Kari!" Davis insisted, "No time like today to answer the question!"

"This is so embarrassing!" Kari lamented.

"No it isn't and you know it!" Davis disagreed and said, "The last one you had me answer was far worse than the one you have to answer now. So care to share?"

Kari looked back at Davis with a look that said 'I'll get you for this' as she answered, "I'd probably stuff myself with ice cream until I passed out or go to a club and waste the night away until I passed out after getting completely drunk."

On hearing that, Davis pictured Kari sleeping like the dead on the couch with a fatter stomach from overeating. Then he pictured her sitting at a bar drunk and wasted while reeking of alcohol with her speech being incoherent and her movements sloppy.

"I never imagined you'd be such a wreck if that happened," Davis remarked while thinking about what Kari said about how she'd get herself wasted and drunk if she ever got dumped by her boyfriend. It caused him to recall what happened in his previous life when Jun went to a bar and got wasted after she was cruelly dumped and humiliated by her former boyfriend. Davis remembered finding and bringing Jun back to her home where he spent the night looking after her. There were times Davis wondered what went through Jun's drunken head that night to cause her to kiss him by mistake. His only assumption back then was that she mistaken him for her ex-boyfriend, but he knew ultimately that his assumption didn't make sense.

 _'My first kiss on the lips was given to me by my drunk heartbroken older sister,'_ Davis groaned inwardly, _'I hope this time around I don't have a repeat of that as I was given a second chance in life.'_

"What we're sharing with each other because of this stupid game better not go beyond this room Davis!" Kari warned, unknowingly snapping Davis' mind back to the present time.

"Don't be a hypocrite Kari," Davis replied, "You insisted and wanted to play this game specifically with me in the first place. Not mention that I'm constantly getting the worst questions to answer! I would have been quick to believe that this game was rigged if it weren't for the fact that all the blocks have the same color and that we have to select and pick out a block by random each time."

"Whatever," Kari shot back, "Now hurry up, it's your turn."

"Fine, fine," Davis said as he went to the tower and carefully pulled out a piece from it without collapsing the tower. He read the question and…

"Oh Hell No!" Davis said with major discomfort, "This is by far the worst piece in this game!"

"What does it say?" Kari asked.

"I want a do over!" Davis said as he looked to put the piece back in its place.

"Oh no you don't!" Kari countered as she refrained him from dodging the question, "Read the question. I wanna hear it since you had me answer the last one."

Davis tried to think of something to get out from reading the question, but found that Kari wouldn't let him off the hook. With no other choice, Davis read the question aloud, "Describe how you would seduce your boyfriend/girlfriend or lover and turn him/her on."

"Really?" Kari asked while wondering if she heard the question right and added, "I don't know how you're even going to attempt to answer that question."

"Kari," Davis replied with a calm but confident tone and demeanor, "There's a reason women buy romance novels by the millions. Women love the dream of a white knight who will sweep them off their feet in a whirlwind of romance. The thrill of getting a man's complete and undivided attention is a huge turn-on for most women."

"And what would you know Davis?" Kari challenged skeptically. Looking directly at her, Davis said, "Desire starts in the mind, Kari. I would start by seducing her mind as most women take time to warm up," with a more sensual tone Davis continued, "I would tell her I love how soft and smooth her skin is, and how I've been thinking about the smell of her hair, the color of her eyes and that I can't wait to taste her."

"T-Taste her?" Kari stuttered with Davis having her fully attention.

"Before tasting her though," Davis continued just as sensually, "I would take my time and touch her body slowly as women responds sensitively to a man's touch and caress. Slowing down and focusing on different parts of her mind and body is more intimate and creates a stronger bond. Before long I would whisper in her ear and lick her earlobe before kissing her neck and all those other sensitive spots that rarely get touched and caressed. I would take the lead and show that I'm the alpha male. I would hold her hands high above her head against the wall and kiss her passionately, first on the lips, then on her neck as I peel her clothes off a piece at a time. Gently, I would free her of her shirt and bra while planting soft kisses against her skin.

"Soon I would work my lips and tongue down to her breasts and navel to give them my tender oral attention while using my hands to reach up under her skirt to caress her luscious twin bottom cheeks while listening to her melodiously moaning breathlessly. After giving my affectionate attention to her bosoms, I would get on my knees before her and reach for her hips with my hands under skirt. With her skirt held up, I would proceeding in using my lips and teeth to pull down and remove her panties-"

"OK Davis! You made your point! I've heard enough!" Kari exclaimed with a face going dark red as she was visualizing too much, _'If he went further, I don't know much self-control I would have before needing to run to take a cold shower! I didn't think Davis had such vivid and colorful fantasies that can go that deep! Even I was getting turned on by it!'_

"What's the problem Kari?" Davis teased with a toothy smile, "You asked me what I knew, so I decided to share."

"I'm sorry I challenged you!" Kari replied with her blush never leaving her face.

"Shall I continue?" Davis asked.

"No!" Kari replied quickly, "Your turn is officially over!"

"In that case," Davis suggested with victorious demeanor, "Take your turn."

Kari went and carefully removed a piece from the upper part of the tower. Sighing in relief, that the tower didn't collapse, she read the question, the redness in her cheeks return full blown.

"What does it say?" Davis asked.

"Describe how you want to be kissed by your boyfriend/girlfriend or lover," Kari said, reading what was written on the block.

"Let's hear it," Davis said with a toothy grin, "Share your dream fantasy kiss."

 _"There's no way I can get out of this,'_ Kari thought, _"Telling the one guy I like the most how I want to be kissed?'_

"I'm waiting," Davis chimed. Having no other choice, Kari revealed, "A guy needs to have the right amount of confidence and gentleness to deliver a good kiss. I would like to have my hair stroked while kissing or having him pull my head closer. Guys taking control is a total turn-on. I would love it when a guy stops kissing for a moment, places his hand on my face and then just stares at me like he could devour me before going in for another kiss—that would be just heavenly for me. After our make-out session, I would want him to end it with sweetness like a tiny peck on each cheek, then the tip of my nose, then my forehead. That would just send chills up my spine. "

"You're such a naughty girl Kari," Davis teased, "Having mixed fantasies of naughty and nice."

"I can't believe I shared that with you," Kari said with an embarrassed tone, "I can't believe we haven't even stopped playing this game yet after everything we told each other!"

"That's because you decided to play this game with me and give me a better idea of how even you can be very...naughty," Davis remarked.

"Oh be quiet and take your turn Davis!" Kari snorted with her arms crossed in front of her. Doing as he was asked, Davis went and carefully removed a block from the tower. the Jenga tower wobbled for a moment as Davis slowly took a piece from out of it. Kari watched as Davis slowly pulled the block out as the tower looked like it was about to fall. Thankfully it didn't as Davis successfully removed the block.

"That was a close call," Davis said in relief, "But I got the block out without dropping the tower."

"Good," Kari responded, "So what does the block ask?"

Davis looked at the question and read it aloud, "Who was the first person you visualized taking your virginity?"

The look on Kari's face was priceless upon hearing that question spoken. Out of all of the questions, that one in particular struck several cords within Kari as it dug deep into Davis' sexual fantasies, which he never shared with her for obvious gender reasons.

"So who was it?" Kari pried with a mischievous grin on her own, "Care to share Davis, hmm?"

 _'Like I'd tell you that in my first life: I had a wet dream that I was doing it with you in the forest in the DigiWorld at night while the rest of the team was waiting at the campsite for the firewood we were supposed to search for and bring back, and wondering why we were taking so long,'_ Davis thought with a frown, _'It's funny how I started having those wet dreams after Armageddomon was destroyed. But I digress,'_ Davis then said, "If I answer this question, please understand that it was just a young boy crush."

"Accepted," Kari replied, and then thought, _'I hope he's not going to say that the girl he visualized was Yolei.'_

Davis was trying to think of some woman to use as his cover answer. In doing so, he tried to remember the name of a hot woman with very long black hair he recently saw. Soon though, her name popped into his mind.

"Kuraba Chibana," Davis answered, causing Kari to blink twice. But then she remembered who that woman was.

"Kuraba Chibana?" Kari asked, "As in the famous fashion model and actress Kuraba Chibana?"

"That's her," Davis said. Kari looked at Davis for a moment who looked back at her. A moment later, she burst out laughing at him.

"Davis that woman is practically in her 30s and she's an ambassador now!" Kari laughed, "You actually had a thing for someone that much older than you?"

Davis watched Kari laughed her head off at the silliness of whom he chose to use as his answer to the question he was made to answer.

"It was a silly young boy crush like I said Kari," Davis replied, "Besides if you saw how she competed in the Miss Universe pageant then you'd understand how guys my age would develop crushes on her."

"I never knew you were the type to fantasize about pageant girls Davis," Kari remarked.

"We all fantasized about someone once in a while and I know you do too," Davis replied, "Besides, I was going through a temporary phase in my life. I've long since passed that stage and moved on from it. So whatever."

"As long as you are over it Davis," Kari said with a teasing smile, "It would just be weird to have a serious attraction for someone that's much older than you."

 _'You shouldn't talk Kari since you're unknowingly in that position,'_ Davis privately thought, "Anyway Kari, it's your turn now."

After getting the laughter out of her system, Kari went and carefully pulled out the next piece of her choosing while being cautious not to collapse the tower. At suspenseful moment, Kari sighed in relief that the tower didn't fall. However, her relief instantly changed to dread when she saw what the question on the block asked.

"Let's hear the question Kari," Davis insisted, "And no do overs!"

"How about I skip my turn and let you go again?" Kari asked with a nervously pleading look.

"No!" Davis replied with a grin that said "It's payback", "I already had my turn and now take yours. Now read aloud what you're being asked."

Kari sighed knowing that she wasn't going to escape her turn. Relenting, Kari blushed and read the question, "Who do you truly want to have your first kiss with?"

Davis looked at the heavy blush on Kari's face as she was unable to look at him.

"Is it with TK?" Davis purposely asked, knowing that wasn't the case.

"What?" Kari replied as her gaze went back to Davis as he continued, "I know he's a good friend of yours that you knew for a few years now. And I can tell he really likes you."

"TK is a good friend of mine Davis," Kari said, "But I don't see or feel that way for him."

"Really?" Davis asked.

"Davis," Kari made clear, "I'm aware of TK's attraction to me, but I don't have those kind of romantic feelings for him as he hopes I will."

"Well…," Davis remarked wittingly, "Hope is what he practices considering that's his crest and Digi-egg."

"Aren't you full of jokes," Kari replied, "In any case, I'm not interested in TK in that way."

"And you never once flirted with him or led him on?" Davis inquired.

"No!" Kari stated as she frowned at Davis, "TK isn't my boyfriend! Why would I flirt with TK and lead him on in the first place?!"

Davis was able to see Kari's outrage on the topic coming forth.

"I'm not saying you do Kari," Davis clarified, "But some girls are known for doing so to intentionally make another guy that really likes them jealous by flirting in front of that guy with someone else."

"That's cruel and coldblooded!" Kari remarked irately, "Playing with someone's emotions like that! I'd be ashamed if I were one of those heartless bimbos!"

 _'You kind of were in my first life Kari. But I digress,'_ Davis thought and said, "Well, you're not one of those girls. I always known that about you Kari, so there's nothing to worry abou-"

Davis was cut off when the house cat suddenly appeared and jumped on top of the table where the Jenga game was.

"Miko!" Kari scolded before the cat jumped back and crashed into the Jenga tower, causing it to fall and completely collapse to the surface of the table.

"NO!" Kari yelled seeing the mess that was made. Startled by the demolition it caused, Miko the cat ran off from the living room.

"That cat!" Kari grumbled, "I wonder why I still put up with him!"

"Maybe because you wanted to protect your cat from your father after a _certain_ misunderstanding you had back then," Davis teased, resulting in Kari narrowing her eyes at him.

"We agreed to _never_ bring up that embarrassing topic again Davis," Kari reminded while Davis' smile never faltered once as he recalled an event that was perhaps one of the funniest misunderstandings Kari experienced…

* * *

(Flashback; Four Years Ago)

Davis, Kari, Tai and Sora were all going to school together when they heard meow sounds coming from Kari's book bag. Tai and the others stop to look at Kari suspiciously.

"What are you hiding in your backpack Kari?" Tai interrogated.

"Hiding?" Kari asked nervously, "I-"

The 8-year-old girl was cut off when they heard another meow cry come from out of her backpack again.

"Open the bag Kari," Tai directed as he faced his sister. Having no choice but to do as she was told, Kari removed her backpack from off her back and opened it, revealing their house cat Miko inside of it.

"Isn't that your pet cat?" Davis asked, "Miko was it?"

"Kari!?" Tai asked, "What are you doing bringing our house cat to school!? You know animals aren't allowed in school!"

"I had to protect Miko from daddy!" Kari cried with a few tears coming down her face, causing Tai, Davis and Sora to look at Kari with concern as they wondered what was going on.

"Protect Miko from our dad?" Tai asked with a confused expression, "What are you talking about? Why would our dad harm our cat?"

"Before leaving for school," Kari explained, "I overheard what daddy said while mommy was in the living room with him!"

"What were his exact words that you heard dad say while mom was with him?" Tai asked, trying to get to the bottom of things, "If you remember completely, please tell me exactly what you overheard dad say."

After wiping her eyes, Kari said, "Daddy's exact words were, 'After the kids leave for school, I'm gonna eat you today pussycat '."

That resulted in several reactions: Davis burst into a loud fit of laughter as he fell to his knees and held onto his sides with tears about to fall down his face from his hard laughter. Sora's eyes widened as her face turned dark red with her hands placed over her mouth. Tai groaned in total dismay with absolute annoyance and disgust as he fully understood what their father was telling their mother, which was something he _did not_ want to visualize. Davis and Sora also understood what was said but it was very clear that Kari didn't, which they were thankful for.

"Kari you're so cute and innocent it's scary sometimes!" Davis laughed and complimented heartedly, causing the confused girl to look at Davis oddly though a faint blush appeared on her cheeks when Davis called her cute. Tai and Sora took a moment to read between the lines of Davis' comment.

"Kari," Davis said after his laughter gradually calmed down, "Your father had no actual intentions of harming Miko the pussycat at all. You clearly misunderstood what your father was secretly telling your mother."

"I did?" Kari asked with a surprised look on her face, with Tai and Sora coming to realize that Davis fully understood the meaning to what Mr. Kamiya said to his wife. But before Tai could do anything to stop Davis…

"Yes you did," Davis said and clarified, "You see, they were having their secret "grown up" talk that they didn't want you to understand. So your father worded his statement to your mother in a way that didn't revealed what he really was talking about."

"Do you think I should ask him?" Kari asked innocently.

"NO!" Davis said quickly, "I mean, your father should have been more aware of his surroundings before using his "grown up" talk with your mother which led to your misunderstanding. They might get upset and feel bad that you heard something you weren't supposed to hear and currently too young to understand."

"But you seem to understand more than me about what daddy said," Kari pointed out. Davis cleared his throat and replied, "Well, it's a guy thing. Sometimes we catch on to some grown up some stuff that's said by older men. But out of respects for your parents, it's best that we don't try to understand what they were talking about and to just forget about it and not bring it up again. Can we agree to that?"

"OK," Kari agreed. Tai and Sora looked at Davis in absolute amazement in how he skillfully handled such a touchy and mature topic without involving any sexual implications while getting Kari to agree to forget about what she overheard from her father.

"How old are you again Davis?" Tai asked as he looked at the younger boy, "I don't think I would have been able to explain things as sensitively and cautiously as you did just now."

"It's called being discreet Tai," Davis remarked with his adult tone and personality manifesting, "Now, I believe you have a pussycat to return to your and Kari's apartment. I trust you can do so discreetly without…seeing or hearing anything and to not be seen or heard."

While Kari didn't know what Davis was talking about, Tai did and looked at the 8-year-old boy with a defeated look as he couldn't ask either Davis, Sora or Kari to return the cat to the apartment in his place, let alone accompany him back to the apartment.

"I'll make it quick and run out fast!" Tai said before taking the cat from Kari's backpack and rushing back into the building complex of their apartment. Davis, Kari and Sora waited for Tai for a few minutes. Before long, he came running back out to them.

"How did it go?" Sora asked after a long period of silence.

"Nothing happened," Tai replied with a breath of relief, "I saw and heard nothing as I returned our cat back home."

"You were discreet," Davis remarked, "Well done. Let's pretend what happened here didn't happen and continue on our way to school now."

"Why are you so eager to head to school?" Tai asked with a wondering look.

"So I can beat both you and Sora at soccer again!" Davis challenged.

"You are so on!" Tai and Sora challenged back with Kari laughing at all three of them.

* * *

(End of Flashback; Present Time)

Davis chuckled at the new memory he experienced back then before Kari snapped him back to the present.

"Yeah, only you would find that incident funny," Kari remarked.

"But you were so cute and innocent trying to protect Miko back then," Davis teased, "But I wonder if you'll do the same thing with Gatomon in the future."

"What do you mean?" Kari asked.

"You've seen how close Veemon and Gatomon are," Davis pointed out, "And I know how my dragon Digimon looks at your feline partner _hungrily_."

"Davis!" Kari growled as she was reading between the lines.

"What?" Davis replied with feign innocence, "There's nothing wrong with a man wanting the pleasure of having and eating some…pussy once in a while," Davis said, saying the last part teasingly.

"DAVIS!" Kari shouted with a heavy blush on her face. Despite the fact that cats were the actual subject being spoken about, Davis' chosen words at face value sounded sexually perverted.

"What did I say?" Davis asked while still portraying feign innocence.

"Stop making fun of me!" Kari shouted and in the heat of the moment, she lunged and tackled him to the carpeted floor and started smacking him. Davis was too busy laughing while Kari straddled him and repeatedly kept smacking him on his chest with her fists like if it was a drum. Having allowed himself to be smacked enough, Davis grabbed both of Kari's hands and asked, "Are you enjoying the position you're in being on top?"

When Kari saw what Davis was talking about, her face immediately turned dark red and just as she was about to removed herself off him, Davis flipped Kari off him and started tickling her while holding her down. Kari laughed loudly and futilely tried to break free but Davis' strong and manly grip, left her unable to escape him.

"OK DAVIS! I GIVE UP! YOU WIN! MERCY! PLEASE!" Kari laughed as she begged for mercy.

"You dare beg for mercy?" Davis taunted playfully. A minute later he stopped tickling her, allowing Kari to stop laughing and catch her breath as she lied on the floor on her back facing him. Kari saw the position they were in and it reminded her of one of the romance scenes from one of the movies she saw the other day. Seeing the look of expectancy on her face, Davis moved and stood up from the floor and allowed Kari to stand back up with him.

"I think we should put this Jenga game away before Tai comes back and finds out that we were playing it without his knowing or permission," Davis suggested. While Davis seemed to have forgotten about the last question she didn't get to answer…

 _'I wish Davis had just leaned down and kissed me while we were in that position on the floor a few moments ago,'_ Kari privately thought with disappointment, _'It was such a perfect moment for it before telling him that I want to become his girlfri-'_

"Kari, are you OK?" Davis asked, "You seemed to have spaced out on me for a second."

Kari snapped out of her musing and said, "Sorry about that. I was just thinking about something."

"Was that all you were doing?" Davis teased.

"Enough teasing Davis," Kari replied, "You've been doing that to me since you've arrived here."

"You're the one who opened the door for that opportunity for me after you suggested playing that mature-level Jenga game Kari," Davis pointed out, "Through that game we learned more about each other's embarrassing secrets and fantasies that we wouldn't dare share with anyone else."

"I'll never forgive you if you ever tell anyone about what you heard from me," Kari warned.

"Whatever you say," Davis shrugged while being unfazed by her warning and then suggested, "If you ask me, you can take it as us confiding in each other about our inner most thoughts and guilty pleasures."

Kari snorted and agreed, "Accepted."

* * *

(Meanwhile)

Ken and Yolei were sitting together at a table at an open door café with some fresh lemon ice tea and strawberry cheesecake. Much to Yolei's delight, Ken was treating her out to strawberry cheesecake and right now she was eating her third slice and washing it down with her large cup of lemon ice tea. Interestingly enough the café was mostly empty with only a few customers seated a considerable distance from them, giving them both some sense of privacy.

"Wow Ken!" Yolei praised contently, "This place knows how to make some tasty treats!"

"Hey," Ken commented with a shrug of his shoulders, "Even school prodigies have to treat themselves to some sweet pastries and snacks once in a while." he then got a far off look on his face. "But it's not enjoying when you're eating alone with no friends to share the moment with."

"Speaking of friends," Yolei replied, "What's up with this fierce rivalry between you and Davis? I mean no disrespect, but if you both were to work together, there's no telling what you guys would accomplish together as friends."

"Davis and I have a long history with each that goes a few years back," Ken said, "It's a…personal and sensitive topic between the two of us."

"Oh," Yolei said with wonder at that, "Davis never really told me or any of us why both you and him have this rivalry going on between you both."

"It's our motivation and drive to continue growing stronger, faster and more adept in our intellect," Ken explained, "We both have something to prove to each other and to ourselves."

"What could you guys possibly want to prove to each other?" Yolei asked with curiosity.

"Self-improvements and surpassing our thought-to-be limits," Ken said, "It's part of being the elite of our age. After all, what's the point in being the best if there's no one to give you a challenge or work to stay at the top? With Davis, I have someone who is worthy to face me and someone I see as my equal and it's because he is my equal that we both strive to improve in order to tip the scales our way so we can be in the lead. I guess you could say my rivalry with him is like a game."

"A game?" Yolei repeated, not understanding what he meant.

Ken nodded amusingly while resting his head on his hand, "Yes a game. Imagine I'm a player who has beaten the game I was playing completely where all levels and bonuses were cleared, I competed in tournaments where I defeated all other players. But just when I believed I reached the height of my peak, I crossed paths with Davis who showed me there's still someone my age that can beat me. It was through my first defeat that I became interested in bettering myself so I could get the satisfaction in beating Davis," Ken then smirked, "Isn't there anyone you ever wanted to get the satisfaction of beating?"

"Someone I've wanted to beat…," Yolei mumbled out before letting her mind wander on who she wanted to beat. Almost immediately her thoughts pictured Kari and how she wanted to beat her at winning Davis' heart, but did that even count she wondered. The way Ken asked her was obviously in reference to winning at something academic or sporty.

"I don't think there's anyone I want to beat. At least not in the way you asked me. Truth be told, the only thing I try to win at is beating my siblings to be the first one to use the shower or take the last piece of dessert," Yolei revealed while feeling a little embarrassed at her lack of an answer.

"So you have siblings," Ken remarked as he pondered that little fact before questioning further, "Isn't there anything they're good at that you'd like to beat them at?"

"None that I can think of," Yolei answered while letting out a sigh, "I'm the youngest and I have two older sisters and our brother is the oldest of all of us," Yolei said, "Most of the time they're all annoying to me."

"Really now?" Ken inquired, "What about them annoys you?"

"Everything," Yolei answered with an exasperated expression, "Always in my space, always in my business, always making me race them to get the best of our meals or anything else that would be better to be first in line for. One of them is always teasing me about Davis and making occasional jokes about me getting pregnant for Davis before high school. I can go on about the matter concerning those three all day."

"Sounds to me like you have quite the interesting life, it certainly sounds like there's never a dull day," Ken chuckled before picking up his cup to take a sip of his tea.

"I wouldn't call it that Ken," Yolei shot back while using her fork to play with her cake's frosting, "If I could have my way, I'd wish I was the only child my parents had without my older brother and sisters."

CRASH!

Yolei jumped in her seat a bit at hearing a crashing sound and looked up to see Ken with a look of what seemed like momentary spacing out and horror on his face. She looked down to see the cup of tea he was drinking now shattered on the ground with the contents spilled. Before she could ask what happened a young waitress who looked to be in her early twenties with chocolate dark brown hair that went down to her upper back and dark eyes came over to them after hearing the crash.

"What happened here?" The waitress asked as she saw the spill and shattered cup. Ken turned to the waitress while regaining his composure, "My apologies. I lost my grip and dropped my cup by accident," Ken then brought out his wallet where he took out a few bills, "Here, I believe these should cover the price for replacing that cup."

The waitress took the bills and counted the amount before giving a short bow of gratitude, "Very well, thank you."

She then leaned down where she wiped the spill and picked up the broken pieces of the cup to dispose of it. With that she left to tell her boss about the little accident and the coverage she got to replace the broken cup.

"What happened Ken? I didn't think someone like you would have a little accident due to butter fingers." Yolei questioned the boy genius, but didn't get a response for a moment as Ken looked at her with a downcast look until he finally broke the silence.

"You shouldn't make such a wish Yolei," Ken said as his expression saddened where unknown to her, his true self coming forth.

"And why not?" Yolei asked.

"Because unlike you, I know the pain of losing an older sibling and wishing it never happened," Ken revealed, "And not a day goes by without me wondering what my life today would have been like if my brother Sam was still alive."

"I didn't know you had an older brother who…passed away," Yolei replied with a shocked look on her face.

"Losing my older brother Sam was the worst event that happened in my life," Ken added while looking down with a dazed expression as if he were looking at something in his mind, "Believe it or not, he was also a child prodigy, only he was smarter than me."

"Are you serious?" Yolei asked with a surprised tone.

"Sam was like Davis in certain ways," Ken expounded, "He had a very high IQ, was naturally gifted, skilled in many things, and was admired and loved my many. My brother was someone I admired and thought was capable of accomplishing amazing feats. At the same time, he was also someone I wanted to rival and surpass at one point."

"Why was that?" Yolei inquired.

"Because I couldn't stand how he was the one my parents gave the most attention to," Ken revealed with a small trace of anger before his tone enveloped by sadness again, "He was the one that top schools wanted as a student, the one other parents wanted to introduce to their daughters. I hated how my existence was overcast by his shadow, or so I thought back then.

"Then one night he busted me snooping through his stuff in his room and sternly scolded me for doing so. It was the first time he ever raised his voice at me and in my anger, I told Sam that I wish he'd just go away and never come back. Even though I said that when he wasn't around to hear it, it was still the worst thing I ever told him because on the next day my wish came true."

Ken paused to look into Yolei's eyes who flinched back from seeing his eyes filled with such sadness and looking like he was close to entering a state of depression, "My brother was hit and killed by a drunk driver while he was riding his bicycle to school. His death haunted me since and I always felt it was my fault for wishing he'd go away and never back," Ken looked turned away from Yolei, "That's why I disapproved of you saying that you'd wish you were the only child your parents had without your older brother and sisters. Because your careless wish could end up becoming like mine, a granted self-despair of pain and misery that'll mark you forever."

Guilt started to wash over Yolei as she realized her commented reopened deep wounds from Ken's past.

"Oh Ken I'm so sorry!" Yolei apologized while tears streamed down her face, "I didn't mean to offend you and bring back hurtful memories of your past."

"It's alright," Ken assured as he handed Yolei a napkin to wipe her eyes and tears which she accepted, "It's not like you were meaning to offend me. You didn't know. But I will say that this discussion had given us a better understanding and idea of each other's feelings and perspective of things. Wouldn't you say?"

"It did," Yolei said as she nodded her head as she wiped away the last of her tears.

"I'm happy to hear that," Ken said, "So please don't cry for me, but smile for me my royal haired maiden. I'll treat you to another cheesecake if you do."

Yolei cheered at the idea of being treated to more free snacks as Ken promised. After another twenty minutes, both Ken and Yolei saw that it was time for them to leave and head their separate ways home. Ken had gone and paid for everything as promised.

"I truly did enjoy my outing with you Yolei," Ken said and bowed to Yolei, "Thanks for taking time out for us to hang out and get to know each other. I hope we can do it again soon."

"Thanks for cheering me up and treating me out," Yolei thanked, "But don't think that I'll switch sides and help you beat and surpass Davis."

"I wouldn't dream of it my royal haired maiden," Ken laughed, "I welcome the challenge. Well, I know you have to be on your way home now, so until we meet again, take care."

And with that Ken departed and went on his way home, as he was walking, he stopped and flashed Yolei a sweet smile, causing the girl to blink and a small blush to show on her cheeks. Seeing that he got the desired reaction from Yolei, Ken turned and continued on his way to the train station to head back to Tamachi. Yolei stood and watched Ken depart from her while wondering what her reaction to Ken's gesture was all about. She soon snapped back to the present and looked at her watch and found that it was starting to become late in the afternoon.

"I better head home now," Yolei figured as she started on into the direction of her family's home.

* * *

(Elsewhere In Odaiba)

Matt was at band practice with his crew in the performance hall that they regularly use for their concerts. Currently, they were rehearsing some of their new songs and gigs as they were working to get their sequence and rhythm in order. After another ten minutes they decided to take a break from practice and relax their hands and arms. Matt for his part went outside for a soda when he saw Jun approaching the facility.

"Hey Jun!" Matt called out, getting the girl's attention. Jun turned to see who called out to her and smiled when she saw who it was.

"Matt!" Jun greeted as she went over to where Matt was standing, "What are you doing out here?"

"My band and I are practicing for our upcoming gig," Matt answered, "What are you doing here?"

"I came out here to make sure I knew where to go when your concert night arrives," Jun replied.

"Well this is the spot, so I hope to see you here on that evening," Matt said, "By the way, how's Davis doing after that whole mess at the park the other day?"

"He hasn't changed at all," Jun remarked, "He's still the same old Davis and he surprisingly didn't let what happened dampen his spirit though both Yolei and Kari hasn't come around in the passed few days."

"They're probably too ashamed of their immature behavior and looking for ways to apologize to Davis," Matt figured, "But from what I've seen of Davis so far, I'm sure he'll forgive them. But other than that, your brother plays the violin with amazing talents. As I was listening to him, it wasn't hard to see why he influenced you to take up learning to play stringed instruments."

"My brother surprised and amazed me and everyone over the years," Jun said, "Believe it or not, he wasn't always a genius or child prodigy. In fact, when he was six and seven years old, he was barely passing his classes and a number of times he got detention for fighting. He made drastic changes in his life however after he turned eight years old. I was skeptic at first about his determination to improve himself but he proved me and everyone else who questioned and doubted him wrong. I regret that I didn't have or show faith or believe in him back then, which is why I became determined to become a better older sister for him though I admit I do try to be more like him."

"Seeing your little brother as a role model for yourself?" Matt chuckled, "That's sweet considering how far he came from what you're telling me. But I don't see myself looking at my little brother TK as my role model. Back then he used to be quite the crybaby and he's still a momma's boy."

"Well with regards to those past fights Davis used to get into," Jun chuckled and said, "I later on found out that it was because he was protecting his friend Kari from school bullies."

"Davis was protective of Kari even way back then, huh?" Matt asked with a look of interest.

"Davis is protective of everyone close to him, including me," Jun remarked, "He even cock blocked one particular guy who was trying to flirt and hit on me once three months ago. I was annoyed at Davis' actions and behavior at first as for some reason Davis hated that particular person. Davis even looked ready to fight him if need be."

"Wow," Matt remarked, "The issue between Davis and that guy was that serious I see."

"It was," Jun admitted, "And I know Davis isn't the type who would do something without a reason. He must have sensed or knew something about that guy that spelled bad news for me if I got involved with him. I decided to trust Davis' judgment and not pursue anything with the guy. It turned out that Davis' intuition was on point as I later find out from one of my friends that that guy was freaking player who's been messing around with a number of girls in school. My brother saved me from being hurt, humiliated and becoming another one of that player's conquest."

"Well no caring brother wants anything bad to happen to their older or younger sister," Matt stated, "But I'm happy to say that I'm in Davis' good grace so far as I was able to talk him into revealing his talent and artful skills with the violin to me and the rest of his friends. He actually had his own unplanned concert as more of his schoolmates came over to watch and video record him playing his violin."

"Though I said it before but again thank you for talking and getting through to him," Jun thanked, "I'm happy that his friends got to see and appreciate his musical skills."

"And speaking of seeing and appreciating one's musical skills," Matt suggested, "Why do you come inside and let my crew listen to you play the guitar?"

"W-What!? M-Me!?" Jun stuttered in surprise and hesitation, "Play in front of your band!? But I'm not that good to demonstrate anything yet!"

"Relax Jun," Matt smiled and assured, "You have me teaching and training you, remember? Just let them hear and watch you play just once."

Jun was nervous at first, but she didn't want to look like a hypocrite in encouraging Davis to play for his friends when she herself wouldn't demonstrate her developing musical prowess. After thinking it over Jun consented, "Alright. I just hope I don't sound too off key."

"Don't worry Jun," Matt encouraged, "If Davis was able to overcome his inhibitions, then you as his big sister can too. So let's go!"

Matt took Jun by her left hand and led her inside to where the other band members were. Jun had a clear shade of red on her cheeks after seeing and feeling her hand being held by Matt right hand as she felt her heart beating hard and fast. She took several deep breaths to calm herself down and not look foolish in front of his friends.

 _'I can't believe Matt wants me to play in front of his band!'_ Jun thought nervously, _'But I can't let him down after he came through for me in talking to Davis! I have to give it my all! I owe him that much!'_

Soon they were approaching the other members of the Lone Wolves. When the other four members turned to see Matt approaching them, they grinned when they took notice of him holding Jun's hand.

"Hey Matt!" one of the band members greeted, "Who's your cute girlfriend?"

Matt and Jun immediately blushed brightly when they heard what was asked before realizing they were still holding each other's hands. Almost instantly they let each other's hands go as Matt cleared his throat.

"Guys, this is Jun Motomiya," Matt introduced, "She's the older sister of Tokyo's famous boy genius and chess grand master Davis Motomiya."

"So you're Jun Motomiya," the same boy acknowledged, "It's a pleasure to finally meet you."

"Finally meet me?" Jun asked quizzically.

"Yeah," another boy spoke up, "Matt speaks favorably of you and your ability to play the guitar. You must have made a huge impression on Matt since he's hard to impress."

"Alright guys that's enough," Matt replied though Jun felt her heart beating just as fast if not faster and harder as the redness never left her face.

 _'Matt speaks about me favorably with his band,'_ Jun thought in disbelief, _'Does that mean he likes me?_ … _No, I'm just overthinking things too quickly! There's no way a hip and real cool guy like Matt could ever like me! He's just being a good friend to me, that's all I'm sure!'_

Jun was so deep into her thoughts that she didn't realize that Matt was standing in front of her with his personal electric guitar in his hands.

"Jun?" Matt called out, "Earth to Jun?"

Jun snapped out of her train of thoughts and realized that she spaced out.

"Oh, sorry about that," Jun apologized, "I got lost in my own thoughts."

"That's OK," Matt assured as he handed her his electric guitar, "Why don't you give my band a demonstration of how well you play? I like for them to see how you perform. I'll even lend you my personal guitar. Are you up to it?"

"Matt must really like this girl if he's willing to lend her his favorite instrument so she could demonstrate a sample of her skills," one of the guys whispered to the drummer of the band.

"It makes me wonder if she's really everything Matt claims her to be," the drummer whispered back as he and the rest of the band watched Jun take the guitar from Matt's hands and placed the guitar strap over her neck and shoulders. They watched as Jun carefully examined the instrument and then placed her hands in position before momentarily closing her eyes. After a moment of silent waiting, Jun opened her eyes and gave the same confident look and smile that Davis would give whenever he accepted a challenge. Taking a breath, Jun started playing Matt's guitar with fluidity and precision, hitting each note and key on point. She was playing an instrumental version of a new song she was secretly working on.

While she was playing, Matt and his band listened and watched her performance.

"She's surprisingly good for someone who taught herself," the second guitarist complimented.

"Jun said she learned and practiced for two years by studying and watching online tutorials," Matt reminded, "She also said that her brother was her inspiration for getting into music."

"And you conveniently met her at a music instrument store almost a week ago," the drummer commented.

"What I like to know is what's the name of that song she's playing," the keyboard player remarked, "I never heard it before and it sounds catchy."

After another five minutes, Jun concluded her instrumental solo, with Matt and his band applauding her.

"That was very good Jun!" Matt complimented, "You sounded even better than the last time I listened and watched you play! You improved fast!"

"Thanks Matt," Jun said appreciative as she went over and returned his guitar to him as she admitted, "I was very nervous and thought I'd mess up along the way."

"Even if you did you were still very good," the drummer said.

"What was that song you were playing just now?" the keyboarder asked.

"It's my new song I came up with," Jun revealed, "I call it "Shining Awakening"."

"Shining Awakening?" Matt repeated, "That has a interesting catch to it. How did you arrive at that title?"

"Seeing how much my little brother changed from who he used to be to who he is now," Jun explained, "It inspired and made me realize how much I needed to change and improve on myself. That acknowledgement was my personal awakening. I'm still working on the lyrics however."

"Well you're on to something. So let's hear it again when you finally perfect the song," Matt requested, "Would that be alright with you?"

Jun smiled happily and nodded her head as she agreed, "Sure!"

* * *

(Back At The Kamiya Residence)

"Why are you and Sora back so early?" Kari asked, "You guys said you wouldn't be back till later this evening!"

"The movie was sold out as hard as it is to believe," Tai replied, "It's been three days since its release and tickets are still selling."

"What movie was this?" Kari asked.

"Battle Royale," Tai answered.

"They actually made a movie out of that story?" Davis asked with a raised eyebrow.

"What story?" Sora asked curiously.

"That movie is based off a novel that came out some years ago," Davis explained.

"I take it that you read the novel before," Sora inquired, "So what was the story about?"

"I'll put it this way Sora," Davis answered, "If the movie follows the novel's storyline and sequence of events very closely, then take my word for it, that movie will be anything but your cup of tea. Trust me, the movie will be graphically violent and brutal as a horror-thriller."

"No spoilers!" Tai interjected.

"What makes the novel a psychological horror besides the brutal violence between 42 high schoolers," Davis explained, "Is that it's very hard to trust anyone because your own best friend or girlfriend just might betray and kill you to save their own skin or someone who has a grudge against you might use that deadly game as an opportunity to kill you without fear of punishment."

"Really Tai?" Sora asked with a heavily annoyed look on her face as she turned to look at him, "You wanted me to see that dumb movie with you? It makes me appreciate that all of the tickets were sold out."

"Well since that movie was a bad idea as I now see," Tai replied with a nervous laugh, "We could stay here instead and enjoy the place while mom and dad aren't here."

"We could," Sora agreed and then chimed, "But I see that Kari was already here enjoying the place with Davis, alone, with cake too."

"And what's so wrong with that?" Kari asked.

"Hey!" Tai realized, "That's the same cake you wouldn't allow me to try."

"It wasn't for you in the first place Tai," Kari reminded, "At the very least, I allowed you to lick the bowl after I was done with it."

"KARI!" Tai yelled with an embarrassed look on his face, only for Davis and Sora to laugh at the sibling scene between Tai and Kari.

"Well, take it as a compliment Kari," Sora laughed affectionately, "If Tai appreciates your cooking then that's a sign that you'll make a _certain_ lucky guy happy to have you for a wife."

"SORA!" Kari replied with a heavy blush on her face.

"Practice what you preach Sora since you're already planning to become the next Kamiya of this family and give Tai children," Davis remarked, "By the way, did you guys reach third base yet?"

"DAVIS!" Tai and Sora yelled with deep blushes of their own on their faces.

"Anyway," Davis remarked, "It's clear that you both are still on your date together so I'll depart from here with my cake."

Davis went over and retrieved what remained of the cake on the table.

"You're leaving for your home now?" Kari asked.

"Unless Tai and Sora need me to stay around as a chaperone," Davis joked, "Teenage hormones run high these days."

"Enough jokes Davis," Kari snorted as she grabbed him by the arm and escorted him out of the living room and into the kitchen where she wrapped up the rest of his cake for him. After that, they headed to the front door where they placed their sneakers back on.

"I'll be back later," Kari said as she left the apartment with Davis, leaving the older pair alone. Sora turned to Tai and asked, "We have the place to ourselves. So what now?"

Tai thought for a moment before an idea came to mind. Grinning, Tai turned to his girlfriend and asked, "Wanna play Jenga?"

"Sure!" Sora excitedly agreed while not yet knowing the mature nature of the Jenga game Tai was about to introduce to her.

* * *

(Later)

Kari and Davis were walking together through the park as Kari was trying to think of a way to ask Davis a question she had been meaning to ask him. After a brief moment, she decided to just be frank with him.

"Davis?" Kari asked.

"Yes?" Davis replied back.

"I've been meaning to ask you this for some time now," Kari stated, "And I want an honest answer from you."

"What's your question?" Kari asked.

"Do you like Yolei?" Kari asked straightforwardly, "Do you see her becoming your girlfriend?"

Davis stopped walking and lightly pulled Kari's armed back, causing her to stop walking along with him. He looked directly at her and asked, "Does this have to do with what happened between the three of us at the park after Yolei showed you that picture of me playing the violin for her?"

"Davis," Kari replied, "You and I have been friends for a very long time and over the years you became someone I can always trust and depend on. Not only that, I feel completely safe and protected whenever I'm with and around you. I came to trust you with my life knowing you'll risk yours to save and protect mine."

"That's what best and close friends do Kari," Davis replied, "They help and be there for each other."

"And that's the problem I have!" Kari confessed, "Us being just best and close friends when I have these feelings for you! I know this will change everything between us Davis but I have to get this off my chest."

"Take your time Kari," Davis encouraged, "I'm listening."

Kari took a few deep breaths to calm her emotions. After doing so, Kari explained, "It was always just you and me as we grew up together and during those years I've seen how you've changed so much. Since the time we were eight years old I saw through your eyes that you've changed and that you were completely different from how you use to be. It was as though you underwent a complete transformation. Over the years, I've tried to figure you out as I watched you change from a foolhardy goofy boy always wanting to prove something to everyone to a modest, mature and highly intelligent individual who's now one of Japan's top gifted students. It was mind blowing for me to say the least.

"And as I tried to figure you out you've always showed something new about yourself every time. It captivated me as I wanted to find out and know who you really are. After learning from you personally that you're a DigiDestined like me and learning about the many things you did on your own as a DigiDestined, how you and Veemon took on those three Monochromon to protect me and Gatomon despite knowing you were their intended target they were trying to kill all along, seeing how you lead us against the Digimon Emperor and his army while looking for ways to strengthen us, it became very clear to me that there's so much more to you than what's on the surface. And the more I learned about you the dearer to my heart you became," Kari lowered her head and gaze from Davis and said with a saddened tone, "So much so that the possibility of losing you to another girl hurts like a stab wound."

"Kari?" Davis said.

"Davis," Kari continued, "I must be honest with both you and myself if I'm to know where we stand with our bond with each other. Whenever I see Yolei with you, I get this searing pain within my heart," a few tears ran down Kari's cheeks, "I feel as though she is on the verge of replacing me."

"Replacing you?" Davis asked with clear confusion in his tone, "How you could possibly believe that Kari?"

"I see the way she interacts with you Davis," Kari replied as a few more tears ran down her face, "The way she can interpret and explain the things you say when I and everyone else don't understand them, the amount of time she spends with you at your home, accepting her as your study partner after Yolei repeatedly flirted with you to do so, the fact that you played the violin for her first and not me…

"I know we're supposed to be a team working together Davis, but I can't help but feel this burning anger and jealousy that won't go away every time I see her pursuing you, wanting to stake her claim on you. If I didn't feel this way about you then I would have been OK with Yolei wanting to hook up with you and become your girlfriend. But the truth is I'm not OK with it because I want to become so much more than just your best friend! You're kind, humble, courageous, a great friend and leader and self-sacrificing, always putting the needs of others ahead of your own. There's so many things to list about you that I don't see in any other guy but you. The bottom line Davis…is that I really do like you a lot, you mean so much to me."

Davis stood there quietly as he took in everything Kari confessed to him. As he did, he started remembering what happened in his previous life when Kari confronted him on the day he ended his friendship with her. He remembered explaining and venting out all of his pent up anger, frustration and heartbreak in having strong feelings for Kari that were never accepted and reciprocated while she kept hanging with TK whom he for a long time considered his rival for Kari's love and attention. He remembering making it clear that he wanted Kari out of his life and have nothing to do with her any further. Now here it was in his rebooted life that Kari was now confessing her feelings for him and desiring to take their close friendship to the next level.

Davis for his part felt a bit awkward since he had all of his memories and his mental aptitude of a full grow man in his early 30s intact. And while he stood there he was doing this best to rationalize his situation: he knew he couldn't date and go out with any actual adult woman, regardless of his mental faculty of a man. There were certain desires, some of them sexual, and needs he had that he wanted to satisfy and it wasn't like he could ask Kari, or Yolei for that matter, to be willing to meet and satisfy those needs.

"Kari," Davis asked, "Please listen with an open heart and mind as I explain my feelings. Can you do this for me?"

Kari nodded her head as Davis cleared his head to speak clearly.

"Kari," Davis started off, "As you already know, we've known each other since kindergarten and over the years our bond and friendship with each other has grown and strengthened. We've always done things together and spent as much time with each other as we possibly could. As time went on, I grew to become attracted to you as she started seeing other traits and strong points about you that made me consider the possibility of being more than just your closest friend."

Her felt her heart racing and beating heart within herself. She was just waited for him to just go ahead and ask her to become his girlfriend. She just needed to hear him ask her that one question she was desiring to be asked.

"However," Davis said, causing Kari's heart to started dropping, "My recent attraction to Yolei was a result of the amount of time we spend together both in the Real World and recent times in Digital World. I saw different and unique traits and strengths in her that I as a guy found as appealing girlfriend material."

"So you do like Yolei more after all!" Kari said with dejected tone as if Davis already chose Yolei over her. She felt her heart breaking with more tears streaming down her face as a few sobs escaped her throat. It took all of her will power not to run off crying before hearing the whole story first.

"I like and have feelings for both you and Yolei. That's the internal conflict I'm facing!" Davis clarified, causing Kari to look back at him in surprise.

"You like both of us?" Kari asked quizzically.

"…That's my dilemma in this unexpected love triangle," Davis sighed, "As the team leader however, you and Yolei constantly fighting and arguing over my time and attention has brought me only discomfort and stress as it added rockiness to our team's overall dynamics in how we work together."

Lowering her head in shame, Kari apologized, "I'm sorry Davis. I didn't know how much trouble Yolei and I were causing you and everyone else as our jealousy led us to behave so indecently."

"One would think that as the school prodigy and one of Japan's smartest students I would be able to solve and figure out my feelings like a mathematics equation. It's funny how I was about to give Tai advice about pursuing and confessing his feelings for Sora, but when it comes to myself I'm at a total loss," Davis admitted, "I even went as far as to confide in Veemon for advice about how to figure out my feelings in choosing who's best for me."

"You went to Veemon for romance advice?" Kari asked in disbelief.

"He's dating _your_ Digimon partner with no help from me Kari," Davis pointed out, "And believe it or not, he surprisingly gave me some helpful advice which I'm in the process of using as it helped straightened me out. I'm not above counseling and being corrected, even if it's by my own partner when necessary."

"You're humble and modest Davis," Kari remarked with a tone of admiration, "It's one of the things I always loved about you."

"I didn't want to hurt either of you or Yolei, or string either of you along without deciding who I really wanted in the end," Davis said, "That would have been unfair and cruel on my part."

"Tell me Davis," Kari as she looked at him, "What traits and characteristics about me do you love and appreciate?"

"You're an intelligent, very caring and protective young lady, Kari," Davis replied, "You're someone who isn't wishy washy and knows what she wants. You always want what's best for your friends and you care a lot about your family and Gatomon. You're not afraid to speak your mind when needed, especially when it comes to defending your friends and those close to you. You're not afraid to swallow your pride and admit when you're wrong and say you're sorry. Plus, you're not a flaky or conniving or manipulative person who enjoys toying with the emotions of others. And you dream of becoming a kindergarten teacher when you grow up and finish college."

Kari's eyes widened when she heard that, and then she asked, "How? How did you know?"

"How did I know what?" Davis asked in confusion once again.

"How did you know that my dream is to become a kindergarten teacher when I grow up!?" Kari asked with an expression that showed both shock and amazement, "I never got around to telling you that! Not even Tai or Gatomon know that!"

 _'OH SHIT! I said too much too soon!'_ Davis thought after realizing his huge mistake which forced him to think of an excuse fast that wouldn't sound suspicious, _'Damn it! I'm an idiot! I can't believe I slipped and blundered like that!'_

"How did you know that I dream of becoming a kindergarten teacher instead of any other profession?" Kari asked with wonder and curiosity, "How could you have known that when I never told anyone about what I want to become in the future?"

 _'C'mon Davis! Think of something quick to say to get out of this mess!'_ Davis thought desperately. A short moment later after quickly getting his thoughts together, Davis replied calmly with a confident tone, "Well I figured it out using both logic and reasoning after learning everything I have about you from all our years growing up through our childhood together and from my observation about how you carry yourself in class and interact with our teachers, and there was that little Jenga snippet about where in school you'd make out passionately with your boyfriend; all of these things revealed plenty about you for me to get an educated theory on your possible future goals in life…which I deduced correctly apparently."

Kari blushed a bit from remembering the Jenga game but besides that she was amazed by what she heard, "So you've also studied on how to be a detective?

At hearing that Davis gave a halfhearted laugh and replied, "No really. I mean I may have dabbled a little in solving mysteries but nothing that would be on the same level of an experienced or even an amateur detective. Truth be told it's only because our years together and getting to know you that I figured it out. In other words, it took me years to figure out today what your future dream job is."

"How exactly did you deduce it?" Kari questioned.

"Well the first big clue is that I know you have a love for little children. You always have and still do to this very day. So taking that into account I counted the most likely jobs with children involved and then "X" them out till there was only one choice left. So it only made sense that when you grow up becoming a teacher is the profession you would want to pursue," Davis then thought, _'I really hope she accepts that without trying to dig deeper into the matter!'_

"What if I contradicted you and said I wanted to become a pediatric when I grow up and not a kindergarten teacher?" Kari challenged. Davis saw that Kari wasn't satisfied as she tried to trip him up. But that didn't deterred him in the slightest as he decided to answer her next challenge.

"The medical field is Joe Kido's trademark, not yours," Davis countered, "Furthermore Kari, you hate and are afraid of needles and never looked forward to taking medicines. And when you were younger you were more prone to getting sick. You wouldn't have been able to fool me into believing that becoming a pediatric was your dream."

"What about a babysitter?" Kari challenged again.

"Too much for you to deal with especially if you're watching more than one kid in an uncontrolled environment. Not to mention the requirements of getting them food and all other necessities and the job also have different time hours. Not only would you remain busy but the hectic schedules would make your job harder to manage," Davis dismissed.

"A Camp Director?"

"You're not a full outdoors nature person or an expert in roughing it. And considering how you haven't gone camping since who knows when, that speaks for itself," Davis rejected.

"A School Librarian?"

"Too quiet and while you may like reading books you wouldn't be really teaching kids anything from telling stories," Davis brushed off the idea.

"A School Coach?"

"Ha!" Davis laughed, "I'd expect that more from your brother than you. Knowing him he'd probably be whipping his team of misfit youths into shape so they can become great soccer players."

"A Child Psychologist?

At hearing that Davis gave her an 'are you serious look' and merely asked, "Do you want a job that involves you constantly asking a child about his or her problems and having to hear about the negative parts in their young lives? Not to mention the possibility of you hearing about a child who's facing real troubles back home or in school like abuse or bullying which can make you stressed out and unhappy to hear."

Kari said nothing for a moment as she took in everything that Davis said before she smiled and let out a sigh of defeat.

"Again Davis, just when I thought I can figure you out, you've done something new to truly surprise and amaze me," Kari praised with admiration, "You even knew and figured out what my dreams are before I could relate them to you. You truly know and understand me that well."

"I wouldn't say I'm that amazing when I can't even figure out my own feelings yet," Davis replied, "But I will ask if you can give me two weeks at most to sort out my feelings properly and give a fair and proper answer that you and Yolei deserve. Can you agree to this?"

Kari nodded her head and agreed, "I can wait. And I hope whomever you choose makes you happy."

"Thanks Kari," Davis said as Kari gave him one of her brightest sincere smiles. The two DigiDestined left the park and reached the point where they had to part ways and return to their respective homes.

"Well," Davis said, "We both have much to think about until the end of two weeks. But in the meantime, I'll see you tomorrow for school and thanks again for the homemade cake. I'll be sure to eat every piece of it. Get home safe and text me when you do."

"I will Davis," Kari agreed, "I'll see you tomorrow."

Davis smiled and waved her goodbye as they parted ways and went to their separate homes. While Kari was on her way back home, she kept thinking and replaying everything that happened in the park between her and Davis. She thought about everything she said and the things Davis said he loves about her. But what got her the most was how he figured out what her dreams were before she was able to relate them to him or anyone else or even to Gatomon for that matter. The very thought that he was able to do so blew her away completely and the more she thought about it, the more she concluded within her heart how Davis knew and understood her better than anyone else.

Though she agreed to wait for Davis to sort out his own feelings between her and Yolei out, she smiled confidently, being sure about whom Davis would choose in the end. There was no doubt about Kari's feelings, she was in love with Daisuke "Davis" Motomiya, her dearest childhood friend.

* * *

 **Kari confessed her love to Davis, giving him a lot to seriously think about after he revealed having feelings for both her and Yolei. How will this love triangle end, especially with Ken clearly pursuing and showing romantic interest in Yolei? Does Matt truly like Jun or is he just being a very good friend to her as Jun think he is? And what was that business Davis was discussing with that unidentified Digimon earlier in the computer room? Find out next time.**


	8. Chapter Eight: Trial By Fire

**Chapter Eight: Trial By Fire**

* * *

(Two Days Later)

It was a long drawn out day at school and the students couldn't be happier to end their school day after doing their assigned clean-up chores of the school. All the while, Kari was walking around the school looking for Davis. She found out that Davis didn't show up for soccer practice which was unusual since he never once missed practice before.

"Davis didn't show up for practice?" Kari asked herself, "That's so unlike him."

"Hey Kari!" TK called out as he hurriedly made his way from the other end of the hallway.

"Hey TK!" Kari greeted back, "How are you?"

"I'm fine," TK replied, "What are you up to?"

"Looking for Davis," Kari answered, "He didn't show up for soccer practice and no one else has seen him around the school. Did you see him by any chance?"

"No actually," TK said, "Maybe he's with Yolei. They're frequently together anyway."

"Meaning what exactly?" Kari asked while giving him a look.

"They're study partners, so maybe Yolei and Davis left for his place together," TK suggested as a possibility.

"No we didn't," Yolei cut in as she walked down the hallway with Cody next to her, overhearing the conversation between Kari and TK. Kari turned to her rival and asked, "So you didn't see Davis either, huh?"

"No," Yolei admitted, "Cody and I haven't seen him since school started. Is something up?"

"Davis was a no show for soccer practice," Kari said, "It's not like him to just skip practice and not-"

Kari stopped talking when her D-Terminal beeped, alerting her to a message sent to her.

"It's my D-Terminal," Kari said.

"Maybe that's Davis calling now," TK figured as Kari retrieved her D-Terminal to read the message sent to her.

"What does it say?" Cody asked.

"It says 'Come to the Digital World now. Make sure to bring TK, Yolei and Cody with you. These are the coordinates to where I want you and the gang to meet at'," Kari explained.

"That explains where Davis is now," Yolei commented.

"Something important in the Digital World must have happened if Davis is there," Kari concluded.

"Then let's not waste any more time here and head there now!" TK stated as the others nodded and agreed before running to the computer room.

* * *

(Later; In The Digital World)

Kari, TK, Yolei and Cody were making their way to the destination based on the coordinates given to them. Gatomon, Patamon, Hawkmon and Armadillomon were walking alongside their respective partners while looking out for any possible danger. The region was lush and full of green pasture, a couple of rocky hills and trees. So far everything looked peaceful and serene with no sign of trouble of any kind.

"It feels like we're walking through a rich man's garden sanctuary," Yolei commented at all the greenery around the dirt path they were taking.

"And how would you know how one looks like?" Cody asked.

"I've seen enough on TV thank you very much Mr. Cynical," Yolei replied.

"You'd think that there was no trouble happening here seeing this part of the Digital World," TK remarked as he inched closer to Kari, which didn't go unnoticed by either Yolei, Cody or their Digimon.

"I wonder where Davis and Veemon are and why he called us out here," Kari said.

"Maybe to enjoy the view and play the violin for me-…ah I mean for us again," Yolei laughed nervously, causing Kari to frown while keeping her jealousy in check.

"Regardless of the reason," Cody said, "I'm sure we'll find out soon once we meet up with him."

A moment later, they heard the sounds of a violin being played majestically through the trees. The group stopped when they heard this.

"A violin?" Hawkmon said, stating the obvious, "Out here of all places?"

"Well it ain't the Pied Piper," Patamon remarked.

"Maybe that's Davis' calling card for us to follow to him!" Armadillomon commented. Cody raised his D-3 and turned on the radar function and saw a fifth blinking dot which was likely Davis a few kilometers ahead of him. Cody then asked, "Why would he call us with his violin instead of using his D3 to find us himself?"

"Maybe he got bored waiting and is just passing the time," Gatomon suggested.

"Well we won't find out just standing here. Now c'mon, let's follow and seeing where it leads us!" Kari suggested as she and the rest of the team followed the sounds of the violin solo being played. Upon their arrival at a clearing, they came across an unexpected site: a stereo playing a violin recording with loud amplifiers and large speakers attached was stationed right in front of them in the open clearing facing their direction.

"Are you serious?" Cody asked as he and the other reached the loud music machine which suddenly shut itself off after they came close enough to it.

"Is this someone's idea of a joke?" TK asked.

"Actually it's more like my idea for an ambush," a sinister voice remarked, causing everyone to freeze and turned to the source of the voice.

"It's the Digimon Emperor!" TK shouted as he and the rest of the team saw him stand at a distance on top of the rocky hills with a flattened plateau leveled enough for the Digimon Emperor to easily stand on. Next to him was Davis who was tied to a stake, his cloths looking a bit roughed up and he had some small scratches but other than that he looked fine if his glare towards the Emperor was any indication to his health.

"DAVIS!" Kari and Yolei shouted after seeing the situation Davis was in.

"Yes, I captured everyone's favorite promised child!" the Digimon Emperor declared, "It wasn't that hard really considering his carelessness in coming here all alone."

"Guys!" Davis warned loudly, "Get out of here while you can! It's a trap!"

"We're not leaving here without you Davis!" Kari stated firmly.

"Let him go you or we'll make you!" Yolei angrily warned.

"I like to see you try and make me," the Digimon Emperor replied, "But first, I like to give you guys a little test. I call it, "Trial By Fire"."

"Trial By Fire?" Cody repeated and then retorted, "We're not interested in any of your games!"

"Oh I assure you Cody that this is no game!" the Digimon Emperor remarked darkly right before he snapped his fingers and Veemon suddenly seemed to appear from out of nowhere as he jumped over the Emperor and landed down in front of the group at a distance facing the team in front of him.

"Veemon you-" Gatomon stopped when she saw a dark ring fastened around Veemon's neck and his eyes were bloody red and glowing, "NO! VEEMON!" Gatomon cried in horror.

The other DigiDestined and Digimon saw the dark ring around Veemon's neck.

"Oh No!" Kari bellowed at seeing the dark ring around her Digimon partner's beloved.

"Veemon was captured and enslaved!" Cody said as he horrifyingly saw before his eyes the blue rookie dragon staring them down.

"We have to free him and rescue Davis!" Yolei stated with a worried but urgent expression.

"Free Veemon? HA!" the Digimon Emperor mocked, "That won't happen! Veemon's under my control now!" the Digimon Emperor said before raising his dark D3, "He's now my personal soldier!"

"You won't get away with this!" TK declared.

"Release Davis and Veemon!" Gatomon warned heatedly, "Or suffer my wrath!"

"You dare to threaten me Gatomon?" the Digimon Emperor asked and then remarked sinisterly, "I welcome your wrath because it pales in comparison to what I have in store for you! I intend to crush you, and that includes your Digimon friends…," the Digimon Emperor briefly laughed maniacally and the stated, "Now watch and see another sample of my power with this…VEEMON DIGIVOLVE!"

A dark colored light shined forth from the Emperor's D3 and suddenly Veemon began to light up as well.

"Veemon digivolve to…ExVeemon!"

The digivolved Champion level dragon Digimon growled venomously at the team before giving off a loud draconian warrior battle cry.

"He can digivolve enslaved partner Digimon!?" Yolei spoke in horror at this revelation.

"I'd be impressed if the situation was different!" Armadillomon remarked.

"ExVeemon! Fight his control! Don't let yourself be used like this!" Davis yelled out but his cries fell on deaf ears as ExVeemon slowly stepped towards his enemies prepared to charge at the group.

"Guys! We have no choice!" Cody said, "We have to armor digivolve our partners and stop ExVeemon!"

"No! There has to be another way!" Yolei argued.

"If there is one I like to hear it!" Cody replied, "Otherwise we have to stop him from hurting us!"

"Cody's right!" TK agreed, "I don't like it any more than you guys but we have no other choice but to-"

"You guys talk too damn much!" ExVeemon yelled as he charged at them with a fist swung back to strike. The group got out of the way just before ExVeemon's fist connected where they stood, making the ground crack a small area around the struck spot, which messed up with the earth as it cracked open with couple of stones upturned. Once out of harm's way, the DigiDestined took out their D3s.

"Everyone! Armor Digivolve!" Kari shouted as their four D-3's lit up.

"Digi-Armor Energize!" Kari, TK, Yolei and Cody shouted simultaneously as they summoned their armor digi-eggs.

"Patamon armor digivolve to…Pegasusmon, Flying Hope!"

"Gatomon armor digivolve to…Nefertimon, the Angel of Light!"

"Hawkmon armor digivolve to…Halsemon, the Wings of Love!"

"Armadillomon armor digivolve to…Digmon, the Drills of Knowledge!"

"Four armored digivolved Digimon against one Champion Digimon," the Digimon Emperor mocked, "The odds are truly in my favor!"

"You're outnumbered Digimon Emperor, so let Davis go!" Kari ordered.

"Let him go?" the Digimon Emperor replied while putting a gloved hand to his chin in thought seemingly as if to think about it, "No, I don't think so. Before I finish him off, I'll have him watch as ExVeemon battles you guys. ExVeemon, deal with my troublesome enemies!" the Digimon Emperor ordered.

ExVeemon flew off the ground and dashed straight into the group of armored Digimon.

"Everyone take cover!" Pegasusmon advised, "This might get ugly!"

"Do understand that this is nothing personal mind you!" the Digimon Emperor said, "It's just business and you four are a nuisance to my plans for complete conquest. So I'm afraid I'll have to dispose of you all in order to carry out my purpose for the benefit of the Digital World."

"You have a sick mind if you expect us to believe that, Digimon Emperor!" Yolei retorted.

"Yolei take cover!" Halsemon warned as ExVeemon reached them and body crashed into Halsemon, tackling him to the ground. Clenching his right fist, ExVeemon aimed to deliver a solid punch to Halsemon when…

 **"Gold Rush!"** Digmon yelled out firing his drill rockets at ExVeemon from behind while aiming at the dark ring around his neck. ExVeemon reacted quickly as he stood up and turned towards the direction of the one who fired. Crossing his arms over his chest, ExVeemon powered up and gathered energy quickly for his attack as the "X" marking on his chest glowed.

 **"V-Laser!"** ExVeemon cried out as he fired his yellow energy beam from his chest and straight into the drill rockets, creating an explosion as the attacks collided and cancelled each other out. Seeing ExVeemon's back, turned Halsemon capitalized on ExVeemon's distraction and attacked.

 **"Tempest Wing!"** Halsemon yelled out as he spun around and formed a tornado to use against ExVeemon. Seeing the attack, ExVeemon took to flight and flew out of the way, allowing the attack to hit and destroy one of the nearby trees. While airborne, ExVeemon powered up again for a stronger charge of his attack.

 **"V-Laser!"** ExVeemon called out as he fired a slightly more powerful beam from his chest and straight into the ground where the group of armored Digimon were.

"Look out!" Nefertimon warned as she and the others ran out of the way as ExVeemon steered his energy beam into their direction, destroying trees and parts of the ground and landscape in the process. The DigiDestined themselves were out of harm's way and thankfully not in the path of the beam's direction. Nefertimon and Pegasusmon flew up into the air after ExVeemon.

 **"Golden Noose!"** Nefertimon and Pegasusmon said in unison as they crossed paths and form a golden energy rope attached to their forelegs to use to tie up ExVeemon with. They flew from ExVeemon's left and right side and made quick works to wrap the rope around him which wrapped around his chest and biceps, pinning his arms closer to his body where he remained hovering. They believed him to be captured as he was forced to stop firing his laser attack and he was now struggling against his restraints.

"Halsemon!" Nefertimon instructed, "We got him pinned down! Hurry and destroy the-WOAH!" she didn't get to finish her sentence when ExVeemon suddenly flew off dragging both her and Pegasusmon along through the air at rocket speed.

"What the-!?" was all Pegasusmon could say as he and Nefertimon were pulled down towards the surface, "Nefertimon, pull him back and let's pull the noose in opposite directions to limit his movements further."

Heeding her companion's advice, the two partners pulled their ends of the noose which drastically slowed down and eventually stopped ExVeemon when he came close to the ground. The two steeds then pulled hard, raising ExVeemon in the air till he was between them as their golden ropes were pulled until they were pressing hard against ExVeemon's body like a constricting python as he now had no room for gathering momentum.

"I'll get him!" Digmon said before he ran forward and aimed and fired, **"Gold Rush!"** he launched his drills which sailed towards their target's neck and head. ExVeemon saw the incoming attack and in a moment of desperation he bent his body so that it was facing the ground which worked to help him avoid the drills as they sailed past where his head would've been. Surprising the group at his quick thinking.

"We need a wider range attack! Halsemon move in and attack!" TK ordered out when he saw ExVeemon trying to break free from his bonds again. They had to strike now before he managed to somehow get out. Complying with the order Halsemon flew off straight towards his friend turned enemy, spun around rapidly and cried out, **"Tempest Wing!"**

Halsemon's body became a cyclone once more as he soared towards ExVeemon, intending to ram him and destroy the dark ring with the wind speeds of his attack. The Digimon Emperor frowned at seeing this, "You won't beat him that easily fools!" he ordered, "ExVeemon don't just stand there, fight back like a Champion!"

Although ExVeemon was well restrained by the golden noose and he couldn't move from his stationary position, that didn't mean he was completely helpless as even though the upper part of his arms were restrained, his forearms were free which he used to grab the ends of both nooses and pull with his strength. Needless to say, both armored steeds were pulled forward slight by the greater pull than before. The pull gave ExVeemon some room to maneuver but not that much.

However, it was shown to be enough when ExVeemon quickly grabbed the ends of the noose again and pulled to gain a bit more room to move which he used to dive down just in the nick of time to avoid Halsemon's attack who ended up colliding on the golden noose and causing himself to get tangled up as his spinning caught and pulled on the ropes, causing ExVeemon, Pegasusmon and Nefertimon to be pulled together with the tangled cyclone and spun around its winds like the weights on the ends of a bola.

"Oh no they're going to crash!" Yolei cried out seeing they were now on a collision towards the ground for a high-speed collision.

"Pegasusmon, Nefertimon undo the ropes and pull up!" TK and Kari cried out simultaneously which their partners obeyed as they untangled the golden noose from their bracelets, separating from the tangled mess and regaining their flight stability as they pulled up. With the noose no longer restraining him, ExVeemon was sent flying backwards due to the sudden loss of attracting force as he flipped his body to stand straight and stopped his out of control spiral.

Halsemon had the closest call as he had spun out of control due to the noose messing with his flight path and causing him to spin out of control. He slowed down his spin and cancelled out his attack as he was plummeting to the ground and tried to steer himself upward. The action required a lot of effort due to being intense fall but he managed to pull up when his body was only a few feet away from the ground and then slowed his speed before landing on the ground where Digmon came to his side.

"Are you OK?" Digmon asked his companion.

"Uuhhh…" Halsemon groaned out while shaking his head to try and rid himself of discomfort. "I'm OK, just a little shaken up from my free falling."

Their moment of peace was ruined when they heard a loud snapping noise and turned to see ExVeemon had went and picked up one of the shot down trees to use as a bat. With his tree in hand, ExVeemon flew up and rushed over to Digmon and Halsemon to take a swing at them. Seeing the oncoming attack, Digmon tunneled into the ground and narrowly avoided getting struck by the tree. Following the trail, ExVeemon chased after Digmon and as he was about to slam the tree into the ground over Digmon…

 **"Gold Rush!"** Digmon cried out from the ground as drill missiles erupted from the ground and into the tree in ExVeemon's hand. As Halsemon raced in to the tackle ExVeemon, the dragon Digimon threw the missile-armed tree into Halsemon's path just seconds before detonation. The tree exploded, blasting Halsemon with burning debris and shards of lumber.

"Halsemon!" Yolei cried out worriedly as Halsemon was blown back from the explosion. He endured a rough landed, but was still able to fight.

"Sorry about that!" Digmon apologized as he emerged out of the ground, "I didn't think he'd use my own attack against you!"

"It's alright," Halsemon assured, "No serious injuries were done."

"Not yet anyway," the Digimon Emperor retorted, "ExVeemon! Stop toying with them and take them out!"

"ExVeemon!" Davis cried out, "Damn it! Don't let him control-"

Davis didn't get to finished when the Digimon Emperor brutally punched him in the gut. The breath was knocked out of him as pain was clearly seen from his face.

"Davis!" Kari cried out in panic after seeing what happened to him.

"There's no need for you to talk further Davis, so do us both a favor and shut up!" the Digimon Emperor cruelly remarked.

"Guys we have to get to Davis!" Kari said, "Our Digimon will handle and free ExVeemon while we think of a plan to get to Davis."

"I don't think getting to Davis will be a viable option," Cody disagreed, causing Kari and the others to look at him.

"And why would you say that?" Yolei argued.

"You honestly think the Digimon Emperor would allow himself to be an open target for the four of us to outnumber?" Cody asked as he knew there was no way someone as smart as him would make that simple mistake.

"It's good to see that one of you knows when to see things not with their eyes but with their mental discernment," the Digimon Emperor remarked just before a Digimon with a dark ring fastened around his neck appeared and stood next to the Digimon Emperor. TK's and Kari's eyes widened when they saw who stood next to the Digimon Emperor.

"Andromon!" TK shouted as he recognized the mechanical Digimon.

"That's right and he's better than ever because he now serves me without question," the Digimon Emperor commented, "I'd allow him to join in on beating the crap out of your Digimon but I think ExVeemon is more than enough for the job."

"Andromon it's us, your friends!" Kari shouted to their past ally, hoping the sight of his friends would awaken him from the Emperor's control. The mechanical Digimon stared down at the group with an expression that looked puzzled as if he were trying to recall something before he spoke out, "Who are you?"

"It's us, TK and Kari! Your friends from before. We fought together against the Dark Masters!" Kari spoke out.

"And you met me when Tai and the others helped free you from Devimon's control when he was using the dark gears!" TK added in.

"….I don't know any of you," Andromon responded, earning a stunned look from both of the experienced Digidestined. Andromon's words made both TK and Kari developed stunned expressions and before they could say anything else, they heard the Digimon Emperor suddenly laughing in amusement from watching their attempts as he explained, "You're both wasting your time trying to talk to him. He doesn't remember you two and he won't after the improvements I made."

"What have you done to Andromon!?" TK shouted in a tone demanding an explanation.

"Nothing major really. I just made a few needed modifications to his hardware," the Digimon Emperor replied before reaching into his left pocket and pulling out what looked like a thumb sized computer chip of some kind which he showed to TK and the others, "I removed this unnecessary equipment that was previously wired inside his head. This is his memory chip and it possesses all of his memories of you and everyone else he knew, his personality, and everything that made Andromon who he was…with the exception of his programmed combat skills and knowledge on electronics and the Digital World since that's all I require him to possess."

"You stole his memories!" TK yelled, "Give Andromon back his memory chip now!"

"You wish for Andromon to have his memory chip back," the Digimon Emperor asked and said, "Very well then," turning to Andromon and instructing him, "Take back your memory chip Andromon."

"Affirmative my lord," Andromon said in compliance as he went and retrieved the chip. TK and the other blinked in disbelief in seeing what just happened.

"He actually gave it back?" Cody asked in confusion at the Digimon Emperor's actions.

TK replied, "I'm finding it hard to believe myse-"

"Now destroy it!" the Digimon Emperor ordered. Without saying a word, Andromon quickly and tightly clenched his right fist possessing the chip and completely crushed it to irreparable pieces.

"NO!" TK screamed in shock and horror. Kari and Yolei gasped with their hands over their mouths after witnessing the Digimon Emperor's cruelty in what he had Andromon do to his own memory chip. Like TK, Kari and Yolei, Cody had a look a shock and fright after seeing such a vicious act committed.

"How could you!?" TK growled in anger and hurt, "How could you be so merciless?!"

"You asked me to return his memory chip and I did," the Digimon Emperor coldly remarked, "But I said nothing about allowing him to reinstall it back into his system's mainframe. I'm afraid the Andromon you and Kari once knew from before is forever gone. Only his robotic shell remains."

"MONSTER!" Kari cried as a few tears fell down her face. Yolei also had tears coming down her face.

"You heartless barbarian!" Cody remarked with righteous indignation.

"I swear you'll pay for this Digimon Emperor!" TK screamed as he futilely tried to fight back the tears coming down his face as well.

"Hn, idle threats!" the Digimon Emperor sneered, "I don't have time for such nonsense!" he then ordered, "ExVeemon! Show them what happens when you challenge me!"

ExVeemon and the armored Digimon started battling it out again and things just got fiercer. Blows and attacks were exchanged between the two opposing sides and ExVeemon didn't look to be letting up. After another ten minutes, the armored Digimon tried to pull back to regroup and rethink their strategy but ExVeemon wasn't giving them a chance to do so. They were barely managing to land some hits on him but nothing serious to weaken him while he was managing to hold his ground and slowly push them back despite their greater numbers.

"How do we stop him!?" Halsemon asked as he tried to catch his breath, "Even though he's only at the Champion level he's fighting us almost as if he was an Ultimate!"

"We can't give up!" Nefertimon declared, "We have to save and rescue Draco from the Digimon Emperor's control!"

"You ought to be more worried about Davis' well-being!" the Digimon Emperor advised, "I intend to let you guys watch as he suffers my wrath when this is all over!"

"How could you be so cruel and evil!" Kari yelled out, "What do you have against Davis and Veemon!"

"I'm sure you and everyone here would love to know," the Digimon Emperor replied, "But my reasons aren't any of your business or concerns as it's between me and Davis."

"If you think we'll let you get away with this Digimon Emperor then you're very wrong!" TK retorted, "We'll find a way to stop you once and for all!"

"Hahahahaha…TK," the Digimon Emperor mocked, "You can only _Hope_ to stop me once and for all!"

"Why you!" TK growled as he clenched his fists, looking angrily at the Digimon Emperor with a desire to charge at him.

"What do you expect to accomplish from all this?" Yolei asked the Digimon Emperor, "Why are you trying to conquer the Digital World?"

"I'm planning on establishing a new DigiWorld order under my watchful eyes as the new overlord," the Digimon Emperor replied, "But I need not do it alone," turning to Kari, the Digimon Emperor extended his right hand out in offering, "So why don't you…join me!"

"What!" Kari asked in pure shock, as Cody, Yolei and TK looked at the Digimon Emperor in utter disbelief.

"Join me Kari," the Digimon Emperor offered, "And I'll let you stand at my right-hand side as my Digimon Empress as we conquer and rule this world together."

"NEVER!" Kari screamed in pure outrage at his offer, "You're a walking disgrace to what we as DigiDestined stand and fight for! You think I'd become your girlfriend and side with you in your twisted quest for power and domination!?"

"While I'm a conqueror," the Digimon Emperor replied with his arms crossed, "Even I'm not above wanting a girl at my side to share my rule with. And who better than the Child of Light to stand beside darkness to rule this world with me as my Digimon Express. However, don't mistake my offer for something as ridiculous as love, for I have no need for such needless things."

"What?" Kari questioned in revulsion.

"Oh don't sound so surprised. In ancient times, maidens were offered to their superior enemy kingdom in order to try and establish peace between the lands. The maiden would either become betrothed or a slave to the prince who would be king. So now I offer you this chance for the same thing where you'll end up as a ruler rather than a slave," The Digimon Emperor clarified while maintaining his superior smirk of arrogance before turning to the rest. "As for the rest of you I'm more than willing to let you join me and become my elite generals."

"You're psychotic!" TK yelled in disgust, "You got to be out of your mind if you think Kari or the rest of us would even consider your twisted offer! There's no way it'll ever happen!"

"Nothing changed with you at all," The Digimon Emperor remarked as he turned to TK, "You're just as presumptuous as ever! I don't recall you becoming anyone's spokesman!" the Digimon Emperor turned his attention back to Kari and offered, "I'll make you a deal Kari: Become my Digimon Empress and I'll allow Davis to live, though he'll have to live out the rest of his life in one of my dungeons! I'll even make him your personal slave boy and attendant if that'll make you happy!"

"You're sick!" Kari answered back with repulsion, "I have no desire to be with someone who seeks to bring harm and darkness to the Digital World and to Davis! We'll rescue Davis and stop you!"

Yolei added, "What would even make you think that Kari would even consider accepting your outrageous offer?"

"You wish to substitute in Kari's place in having Davis for yourself as your personal slave boy?" the Digimon Emperor replied smugly.

"You're crazy!" Yolei shouted indignantly.

"We've had just about enough of your lies and games Digimon Emperor!" Cody stated, "We all know you have no intentions of actually sharing your power with anyone or even letting Davis live, let alone go free."

"Cody, as knowledgeable as ever," the Digimon Emperor replied, "However you are mistaken about me being deceptive. My offer was truly genuine. As for Davis' fate, well I'm sure we could've come to an acceptable agreement but you've gone and thrown my generous offer away. A real shame too because if there's one thing I dislike it's a waste of potential. But I suppose it's preferable to having four annoying enemies getting in my way."

And just as he said that…

"Aaaarrrrggggghhhhh!" Digmon scream as he was punched hard into one of the large towering boulders. He fell onto the ground after the impact, revealing dents, burns and scrapes all around his armor. Within his armor Digmon himself endured multiple injuries.

"Digmon!" Cody cried out in worry, "Are you alright!?"

"Does anyone else hear a ringing or is that just me?" Digmon groaned despite the pain his whole body was feeling as he struggled to get back up, "It'll take more than brute strength to squash this bug!"

ExVeemon flew down and landed in front of Digmon. After cracking his knuckles with a sinister smile on his face, ExVeemon grabbed Digmon by the neck with his left hand and lifted him off the ground as he held him up against the boulder.

"I'll do more than squash you!" ExVeemon remarked darkly, "I gonna crush and melt you down for scrap! And blast whatever is left of you into the sun!"

"Not if we have a say in it!" Pegasusmon retorted, **"Star Shower!"** Pegasusmon called out as he created outer space inside of both his wings, sending down shooting stars upon ExVeemon.

 **"Queen's Paw!"** Nefertimon yelled out as she fired explosive projectiles from her leg armors straight into ExVeemon. The combined attacks raining down on the dragon Digimon was enough to force him to release his hold on Digmon as he dropped him to the ground with a thud. Although battered, ExVeemon stood his ground and gave out a loud draconian roar before he grabbed the large towering boulder Digmon had slammed into earlier and lifted it completely off the ground and held it up over his right shoulder.

"This is trouble!" Pegasusmon noted.

"Ya'think?" Nefertimon remarked.

ExVeemon then summoned the powers of Devidramon from within himself and with that power now at his disposal, ExVeemon looked at Nefertimon and Pegasusmon and said, **"Red Eyes!"**

ExVeemon's eyes flashed a sinister red glow that the two armored Digimon carelessly looked into, causing their bodies to stiffen and remain airborne but completely immobile. Having them in the paralyzed position he wanted them in, ExVeemon aimed the boulder and launched his next attack.

"Here's something from me to you!" ExVeemon shouted and with great strength he threw the boulder at an amazing speed in Nefertimon's and Pegasusmon's direction. And as the boulder rocketed at them, ExVeemon crossed his arms over his chest to power up and blasted his attack directly at the boulder.

 **"V-Laser!"** ExVeemon roared as he fired his laser attack at the center point of the boulder, resulting in it being blown into hundreds of flying projectiles of burning jagged rocks and shards pelting Nefertimon and Pegasusmon as though they were being stoned. The two armored Digimon cried out in immense pain from the fierce battering of the blown up boulder as their wings, legs, armored heads, or other parts of their bodies were being assaulted by the flying rocks and shards. The attack caused them to lose their balance as they went crashing into the ground, which added further injuries onto them.

"Pegasusmon!" TK cried out in panic after seeing the harsh aerial brutality that befell his and Kari's partners.

"Nefertimon!" Kari screamed with a frightened expression seeing the amount of injuries her partner suffered through. Nefertimon struggled to get back up though her dizziness and disorientation were still throwing her balance off.

"What happened?" Pegasusmon asked confusion, "One minute we were looking at ExVeemon and the next minute we were suddenly being beaten and stoned with hundreds of flying rock projectiles."

"It was ExVeemon…," Nefertimon pointed out, "He…He used his eyes to disable and paralyze us…leaving us open to his attack."

"I never imagined Davis' partner was this strong…for a Champion level Digimon," Pegasusmon commented. ExVeemon started approaching Nefertimon while looking at her with a stare of a predator ready to go for the kill.

"Draco!" Nefertimon pleaded, "Please…"

"Nefertimon," Pegasusmon reminded while he tried to maintain his form and keep from de-digivolving, "So long as he has that dark ring around his neck no form of reasoning or pleading will reach him."

"Wait till I get my claws on the Digimon Emperor for forcing this on Draco!" Nefertimon hissed angrily under her mask.

"There will be none of that!" ExVeemon retorted before he rushed at them in an attempt to body crash into them and as he was about to reach them…

 **"Mach Impulse!"** Halsemon called out he released blades of pressurized wind from the wings on his helmet to stop ExVeemon in his tracks as the dragon Digimon narrowly avoided the attack, allowing it the plunge into nearby hill, blasting off parts of it. ExVeemon growled as he turned to the offending Digimon.

"ExVeemon stop this!" Halsemon pleaded, "We're your friends, not your enemies!"

"I'm under orders to have all of you dealt with," ExVeemon replied as he turned his attention to Halsemon.

"ExVeemon you're stronger than this!" Halsemon said, "You're being controlled like a puppet!"

"It's no use trying to verbally reach out to him," the Digimon Emperor laughed, "He's under my complete control and responds solely to my command. Now get ready to be plucked and deep fried!"

The red glow in ExVeemon's eyes intensified menacingly as he flew over to Halsemon. The armored winged Digimon took to flight into the air as ExVeemon followed in pursuit. Cody, Yolei, Kari, and TK hurried over to the other injured and battered Digimon while Halsemon was dealing with ExVeemon. But before they could reach them…

"Stay back, all of you!" Pegasusmon warned.

"But you guys are injured!" TK argued.

"We'll manage!" Pegasusmon replied, "We've faced difficult battles before."

"We understand and appreciate your concern," Nefertimon stated, "But your safety and that of your friends are more important!"

"Plus this fight isn't over yet," Digmon added, "Don't give ExVeemon an opportunity to use you guys against us!"

"You're right," Cody relented, "We'll leave things to you guys then."

Kari turned to Cody and said, "We can't be just be sitting ducks here! We-"

"Even though it's four armored Digimon against one Champion Digimon, our partners are still struggling," Cody replied, "We'd only get in the way."

TK growled and clenched his fist, wishing there was something he could do or think of to help his friends. Digmon, Nefertimon and Pegasusmon gradually stood back up off the ground.

All the while in the air…

 **"Eagle Eye!"** Halsemon yelled as he fired two glowing energy arrows from his eyes in order to paralyze ExVeemon. Seeing the attack coming, ExVeemon counterattacked with his own energy attack.

 **"V-Laser!"** ExVeemon countered using his long ranged beam attack to overpower Halsemon's Eagle Eye attack. Halsemon canceled out his attack and dodge ExVeemon's V-Laser attack before it could strike him. Dashing forward into ExVeemon's direction, Halsemon prepared and launched his next attack.

 **"Tempest Wing!"** Halsemon called out while spinning and forming a tornado in the air. While in the form of a tornado, he pursued ExVeemon through the air with the intent on capturing and trapping him within his tornado. ExVeemon maneuvered around the trees with Halsemon keeping in pace and moving closer to ExVeemon. The dragon Digimon started flying faster with Halsemon increasing his speed in an effort to keep up with him. Digmon, Pegasusmon and Nefertimon soon saw ExVeemon coming their way with Halsemon in close pursuit of him.

"They're coming our way!" Digmon warned as ExVeemon was closing the gap between them with the velocity he was coming with Halsemon coming in too dangerously close. Halsemon saw ExVeemon fly directly into Pegasusmon's path with no intent of slowing down. The armored bird of prey Digimon tried to increase his speed in order to stop him. But just as ExVeemon look like he was about to reach Pegasusmon, he suddenly took to the air, leaving Pegasusmon in Halsemon's path and line of sight.

"Oh No!" Halsemon exclaimed as he realized that ExVeemon's plan was to have him crash into one of his allies while using his Tempest Wing attack. Halsemon hurried quickly to both slow down and cancel out his attack as he wanted to avoid crashing into Pegasusmon. Halsemon, after much effort, narrowly avoided the collision as he slowed down and stopped his attack just on time, barely inches away from his companion.

"That was a close encounter-" Halsemon didn't get to finish his proclamation as ExVeemon ambushed him from the air by grabbing hold of him from behind. With Halsemon in his vise grip hold, ExVeemon rocketed into high into the air.

"Halsemon!" Pegasusmon cried out as he, Nefertimon and Digmon stood up back and then took to the skies in pursuit of their captured friend. Halsemon tried to break free but ExVeemon wouldn't budge in letting him go as he continued flying higher into the skies. After reaching the desired altitude, ExVeemon, with Halsemon still in his tight grip, did a 180 degree turn around and began rocketing down to the ground into the direction Pegasusmon, Nefertimon and Digmon were coming from. With them locked in his range, gathered his strength together for his next attack.

"Time for me to pluck your wings!" ExVeemon yelled out as he used his gathered strength to flip his body backwards multiple times with Halsemon in tow as he gained momentum and then…

"Consider yourself grounded bird brain!" ExVeemon yelled out as he threw Halsemon straight into the other three armored Digimon.

"Look out!" Nefertimon warned urgently but it was too late as Halsemon plunged through all three of them with a brutal force and velocity that resulted in all four of them now falling fast to the ground. Moments later, all four them crashed landed into the ground hard. The resulting impact took its toll on the four of them as they were forced to de-armor energize and revert back to their previous forms. Gatomon, Hawkmon, Armadillomon and Patamon all laid on the ground with many injuries, scrapes and sores to show for all over their bodies. Amazingly enough, they were all still conscious, but that meant they were able to feel the searing pain their bodies were in.

"Gatomon!"

"Hawkmon!"

"Patamon!"

"Armadillomon!"

The DigiDestined cried out to their respective Digimon as they ran as fast as they could to retrieve them. Before they could reach them however, ExVeemon flew in and landed down gracefully where the four beaten Digimon were. TK and the rest of the group stopped dead in their tracks as ExVeemon stood over their Digimon partners. None of them took a step further for fear of what he might do to either them or their partners if provoked. Looking down at the four weakened Digimon that were at his mercy, ExVeemon reached down and picked up all four of them in both hands and flew off with them.

"No!" Yolei panicked.

"Bring them back!" Kari screamed as she and the other followed after ExVeemon.

"Armadillomon!" Cody cried.

"Give us back our friends!" TK ordered, but only to fall on deaf ears as he and the others ran as fast as they could after ExVeemon who flew over to where the Digimon Emperor was before taking his position at his right-hand side.

"Excellent job ExVeemon!" the Digimon Emperor praised while giving a small clap of his hands, "You truly live up to your title as a legendary dragon Digimon. I knew I made the right choice when I picked you to fight these four."

"Let my partner and the others go you prick!" Davis yelled.

"You heard the man!" Yolei remarked as she and the rest of the team reached where ExVeemon has went.

"Or what?" the Digimon Emperor mocked, "None of you are in any position to make demands from me! I have both your leader and Digimon as my prisoners with his mighty partner as my ever-obedient warrior. The question is what do you guys intend to do about it."

TK wanted to do something but he knew that one wrong move could spell doom for both Davis and their Digimon. He was at a mental panic as he didn't know what to do. He frantically tried to think of something but nothing plausible came to mind.

"You know, I just thought of something," the Digimon Emperor figured, "To decrease the probability of how much of a threat you guys can still pose against me, perhaps I should to have ExVeemon absorb and assimilate your partners so that their powers will become his and your little friends won't be reborn again in the Digital World."

"NO PLEASE!" the DigiDestined group begged.

"DON'T!" TK pleaded, having seen Patamon die before, but losing him permanently would be too much for him to bear. On hearing what the Digimon Emperor said, Gatomon recalled to mind seeing exactly what happened to the two Devidramon that Veemon assimilated and after doing that, a look of pure terror and fright appeared on her face as she started shaking. She tried to escape but was too weak to break free from ExVeemon's secured hold on her and the others.

"Draco please!" Gatomon begged fearfully, "Don't do this! Remember who you are!"

ExVeemon didn't respond to Gatomon's pleas as he stood there motionlessly. Kari saw Gatomon and the other Digimon panicking and trying futilely to escape.

"LET THEM GO!" Kari begged loudly with tears streaming down her face at the possibility of forever losing her partner. Yolei and the others were doing no better as ExVeemon looked ready to carry out what the Digimon Emperor said he would order him to do.

"I'll spare their lives in exchange for your unconditional surrender," the Digimon Emperor offered.

"Guys don't!" Davis yelled, "Don't do it! Too much is at stak-"

Davis was silenced when Andromon smacked and knocked him unconscious.

"Thanks for shutting him up!" the Digimon Emperor said, "I was tempted to remove his tongue personally," turning back to the ground, he said with an arctic tone, "You have two opinions: Surrender and become my prisoners or ExVeemon will absorb and assimilate your partners, and I'll make you watch!"

"What about Davis?" Yolei demanded through her tears.

"Don't worry about Davis. His fate is already sealed!" the Digimon Emperor replied, "But you can still save your partners' lives but only if you surrender!"

"There's no guarantee that you'll keep your word in letting our partners live, Digimon Emperor!" Cody argued, "Knowing you, you'll double-cross us, no matter which option we decide to go with!"

"We have no reasons to believe or trust your offer!" Yolei added, "You kidnapped and harmed Davis and forced his partner to fight us!"

"You cruelly had Andromon destroy his own memories against his will and wiped out everything that made him our friend!" TK stated.

"And even if we do surrender and you let our Digimon live," Kari pointed out, "We'd be letting Davis and everyone else counting on us down!"

"So that's your answer to me, is it?" the Digimon Emperor replied darkly, "In that case, you four leave me with no other option!"

Kari and the others prepared for the worst, or so they thought.

"I declared this Trial By Fire test officially over. Everyone pass," the Digimon Emperor declared, causing everyone to blink twice.

"What the hell are you talking about!?" Yolei remarked.

The Digimon Emperor grinned and reminded, "I recall telling you guys earlier that this whole thing was a test that was to serve a purpose and that it was not to be taken personal."

The Digimon Emperor then removed his sunglasses and reached behind his head and removed what was now revealed to be a tight-fitting mask and wig. Who they saw shock everyone.

"DAVIS!" all four DigiDestined screamed in shock and disbelief.

"Who else were you guys expecting?" Davis asked.

"How can this be!?" Kari asked in disbelief, "You were captured and tied to the stake!"

"A robotic copy of my design I assure you Kari," Andromon revealed, giving the group another shock.

"Andromon!?" TK and Kari shouted.

"You mean to say that your memory chip wasn't removed and destroyed!?" TK asked.

"No," Andromon said, "The chip you guys saw me destroy was a manufactured fake. My memories and personality remain completely intact."

"Plus we were never under the influence of the dark ring or the Digimon Emperor either," ExVeemon said with glowing eyes returning back to normal, "This dark rings around my and Andromon's neck are also fakes. Andromon and I were acting out the entire time. Like Davis said, this whole thing was one big test for you guys."

"You're joking right!?" TK said in sheer outrage as he and the others were incredibly pissed.

"No TK, it's no joke," Gennai said seriously as he appeared on the hill and stood next to Davis.

"Gennai!" TK and Kari shouted as they were surprised to see him.

"Kari, TK," Gennai greeted, "It's been a long time. You both grew since I last saw you both. I must say I'm pleased with the way you both and the two new DigiDestined with you handled yourselves in this Trial By Fire test Davis and I put together."

"Gennai!" TK asked, "You mean to say that you were in on this!?"

"Yes indeed," Gennai confirmed, "And before any of you jump to wrong conclusions and start thinking bitterly of Davis, ExVeemon, Andromon and myself, we'll explain why this test was planned and executed. But first I believe your Digimon partners are in need of much medical attention and food to eat."

As if on cue, a team of medical Digimon and Digitamamon and his restaurant staff appeared from around the hill as ExVeemon glided down over to them. After the Digimon set up four recovery cots, ExVeemon gently set Gatomon and each of his three other comrades down on the cots and allowed the medical Digimon to see of their injuries. Digitamamon and his staff were busy getting all of the food ready for everyone. ExVeemon stayed on guard in the event of a sudden ambush by the actual Digimon Emperor and Andromon untied and carried the deactivated robotic clone of Davis. By this time both Digimon removed the fake dark rings from around their necks. Andromon's Digimon assistants went and dismantled the huge stereo system that was used earlier to play the violin music through the forest.

The other four DigiDestined went to their partners as their partners' wounds and injuries were being treated and healed. The medical Digimon provided seats for the DigiDestined to sit on as their partners were being taken care of. Davis' Digimon Emperor clothes, Digimon Emperor mask and sunglasses burst into data fragments as his appearance changed back to normal. His Digimon Emperor clothes was made and provided for him by Andromon. Davis and Gennai went over to the others to check up on them. Upon seeing Davis, TK glared heatedly at him and remarked, "We'll remember this Davis!"

"Good!" Davis replied, "Because forgetting what happened here would mean that you guys didn't learn anything from this experience and would make all I did meaningless."

"What exactly did you want us to learn from this!?" Cody retorted with a displeased frown and a hint of anger in his usually composed voice, "Digimon brutality!?"

"If this is your idea of a lesson to learn from, then it was a brutal and harsh one!" Yolei stated indignantly.

"Guys stop it!" Kari exclaimed coming to Davis' defense, "I know and understand that you are all angry about what happened here! But Gennai asked us not to jump to wrong conclusions against Davis and ExVeemon. Yes, I'm also angry about this as well and also intend to make Davis make it up to us dearly," she emphasized with a glare at Davis, who just look back at her with an unreadable expression. Her glare clearly didn't make him nervous or worried at all. All she got was Davis' placid silence.

 _'You intend to make me make it up to you guys dearly Kari?'_ Davis privately thought, _'Last time I checked, I said I would make things right in the event I do something to upset you, not that I'd let you make me make it up to anyone dearly.'_

Composing herself, Kari continued, "But right now we have to listen to why Davis and Gennai put us through this staged ordeal. The fact that Digitamamon and the Digimon are here helping our partners means that they planned all this far ahead of time."

TK and the other DigiDestined looked at Kari with surprised expressions. Despite what Davis put them through, she was still protective of Davis and wouldn't allow them to verbally attack him without hearing him out first. Davis stepped over to the ground and said, "Your anger and indignation against me is understandable and well deserved. Yes, this was a brutal test and I take full responsibility as leader without question. However, this test was a simulation of a worst-case scenario that could possibly happen in the future."

"What do you mean?" Cody asked while already getting an idea of what Davis meant.

"We've been battling against non-DigiDestined partnered Digimon under the Digimon Emperor's control up to this point," Davis pointed out, "We had no problem dealing with them and in Veemon's case those that weren't under the Emperor's control but attacked and tried to kill him and Gatomon recently out of their own free will were assimilated.

"But it was an entirely different feeling and mindset when one of our own was captured and used against us. The rules clearly changed because it was someone dear and close to us. All of you wanted to stop ExVeemon as best as possible while trying to do the least amount of harm against him as possible. Yet as you all saw, holding back didn't work and ExVeemon only continued becoming more aggressive and fierce, forcing you guys to fight harder with less reluctance in going all out. And as you guys saw, it hurt fighting one of our own, especially when it was a loved one, didn't it?"

On hearing that, Yolei turned to Davis and angrily remarked, "You're a cruel leader and teacher Davis!" at this point a few tears fell from her eyes as she continued, "Having your partner brutally battle and hurt our partners just so you can make a point and impart a lesson to learn!"

"You couldn't simply just gather us together and discuss it with us!?" Cody asked just as irately.

"I personally would have preferred that option over being used at a rocketing bowling ball," Hawkmon commented.

"I know they say experience make the best teacher," Armadillomon spoke up, "But this was one experience I think we could have done without."

"Don't think for a second that Tai and the others won't hear of this Davis!" TK added. The three of them saw that Davis was completely unfazed by their words as he gave them the same expression. It was honestly hard to read him.

"That's enough!" Gennai sternly chastised, "Don't be quick to condemn Davis for this test that you guys endured! None of you heard or know the full story about why this was done and you're forgetting that all of the Digimon here and I were also part of this test we put you four through!"

"I take no pride or joy in what I did to you guys," Davis stated calmly, "It was a hard thing for me to do, but in the end, it needed to be done for everyone's benefit."

"What benefits could we possibly obtain from this?" Hawkmon questioned skeptically.

"This I gotta hear," Armadillomon commented. Davis looked over at Kari to see what she was going to say. He saw that she chose to listen to Gennai's words and remain quiet and hear Davis out before making any harsh judgments.

"Guys," Davis replied calmly and patiently, "Please keep in mind that both Veemon and I are targets to be killed by the Digimon Emperor and his minions. We take a deadly risk every time we come to the DigiWorld knowing that each time could be our last. But we take those risks willingly not only to protect the Digital World alongside all of you, but because we want to train and strengthen you guys as best as possible. Like I said earlier, I take full responsibility as leader and you are my responsibility, which entails teaching and training you guys in whatever way I believe is necessary if it'll ensure everyone's survival and mission successes.

"Understand that the Digimon Emperor won't hesitate to kidnap and use any of our Digimon partners as mind-controlled puppets against us and he won't hold back in using our partners in the most cutthroat way possible if he's given the chance to. There's also the possibility that I might get captured in the future and used as bait to lure you all out for an ambush like this scenario demonstrated. This is the reality I wanted to expose you guys to now before it actually happens. That way, you're all mentally and emotionally experienced and prepared to deal with and handle that situation more effectively. I understand that you guys preferred the option of me talking about this but I found that field experience and trial by fire was a better option in assessing your capabilities and training you guys firsthand about what kind of dangers we're up against."

"The Digimon Emperor is known by many Digimon for his cruelty and ruthless tactics," Andromon added, "I myself just barely escaped becoming one of his enslaved henchmen recently when his forces attacked me. He'd have succeeded in enslaving me had Veemon not appeared and gave me his assistance in fighting off the Digimon Emperor's forces. I wouldn't put it pass the Digimon Emperor to destroy my memories in order to ensure his complete control over me."

"Veemon was able to help you out on his own and save you from becoming enslaved?" Hawkmon asked.

"You and everyone here saw how ExVeemon thoroughly thrashed you and the others in your armored digivolved forms and looked ready to absorb and assimilate you four permanently after you were all defeated and left venerable to him," Davis reminded, "Despite your greater number it still wasn't enough to stop ExVeemon. While it's understandable that reluctance in battling against a comrade being controlled and forced to fight against us will happen, keep in mind that such reluctance and hesitation can end in disaster. Imagine if the actual Digimon Emperor had truly captured and enslaved my partner and ordered him to absorb your defeated partners after that battle was won in his favor."

"While I can understand that you wanted to give us a much realistic surprised field training experience Davis," Patamon remarked, "We were truly frightened when you brought up having ExVeemon possibly assimilating us into his body."

"I don't think I would have been able to handle permanently losing Patamon like that," TK admitted, "The pain would have been too much to bear."

"I've personally seen Veemon assimilate Digimon before," Gatomon said.

"When was this?" Kari asked.

"It was when he saved my life against two Devidramon that almost killed me some time ago," Gatomon explained, "It was unlike anything I've ever seen."

"That explains the Red Eye attack he used against the both of us earlier," Patamon realized, "He resorted to using the powers he obtained from those Devidramon he absorbed."

"Precisely," Davis confirmed, "And after the battle was over with you and your fellow Digimon captured, I wanted to see what my team would do."

"We didn't know what to do," Cody said, "But we knew we couldn't trust your word in sparing our partners if we agreed to surrender."

"You held our partners as hostages against us!" Yolei added, "Surrender or they die. Either way we lose, we just didn't know which was worse than the other."

"Even if we did agree to surrender," Kari reminded, "There's the fact that the Digimon Emperor would have still killed you anyway out of hate and whatever grudge he has against you."

"That much is very true," Davis stated, "It's one of the reasons why Gennai and I made this battle simulation as realistic as possible. Personally, I was interested in seeing how all of you would handle yourselves in such an extreme situation if it were to actually happen."

"Well I personally don't want such a situation to actually happen," Kari spoke up, "And I can speak for the rest of us that my opinion on this is mutual."

"Be that as it may," Davis replied, "But keep in mind how time and unforeseen events can lead to drastic changes either for the best or the worst. Which is why it's my job as leader to teach and train you guys as best as possible in order to be ready for such situations should they occur."

"For someone who's almost thirteen years old," Cody remarked, "You talk like someone with a lot experience, like a retired veteran or something."

"I suppose in a way you say that I am after what I saw and faced against Milleniummon," Davis shot back, "The horrors I witnessed are things you couldn't even see in your own nightmares. My time leading an army of Champion and Ultimate Digimon against Millenniummon back then taught me a lot of things and made me see atrocities I wouldn't want to see befall any of you here."

"He is not joking about that," Gatomon stated in agreement, "Honestly, I never thought I'd meet anyone worse than Myotismon until Millenniummon rose to power."

"That monster was a living nightmare," Patamon spoke up, "An untold number of Digimon permanently lost their lives during Millenniummon's reign of terror as he turned the entire Digital World into an apocalyptic wasteland after he literally split it in two. Among those who lost their lives were dear friends that Gatomon and I knew for a long time. And the same can be said for the older DigiDestineds' Digimon as they also permanently lost friends and allies to Millenniummon. It hurts and haunts us knowing that we couldn't do anything about it since we were captured and turned into stone and that it took Davis and Veemon to rescue and save us."

"Patamon and I can understand Davis' reasons for why he and ExVeemon put this test together with Gennai giving them his support," Gatomon said, "Like Patamon and I, Davis and ExVeemon also lost friends and allies permanently to Millenniummon, yet they chose to keep fighting despite their hurt and tragic loss. This is something they want you guys understand should anything catastrophic happen to me and my fellow Digimon."

Hearing and seeing Gatomon and Patamon give their support to Davis and ExVeemon surprised TK and the rest of the group. While they did seem to hold some contempt, they held no ill will towards them at all as they related to Davis' and ExVeemon's past. The group took a moment to soak in everything they heard from Patamon and Gatomon, which gave them a lot to think about.

"Gatomon, Patamon, Hawkmom, Armadillomon," Davis said, gaining the Digimon's attention, "Please, forgive my Digimon partner and don't hold what happened here against him. Believe me, it was very hard and painful for him having to fight you guys in the manner that he did and pretend he was under the control of the dark ring," looking towards Gatomon, Davis added, "He especially was torn about having to fight you Gatomon, believing you'd hate him after learning the truth."

"We're angry about what you guys did though it had a purpose," Gatomon replied, "But we don't hate either him or you. We forgive you guys."

"Thanks," Davis said.

"There's something I want to know Davis," TK said as he stood from his chair and looked directly at Davis.

"And that would be?" Davis asked.

"Tell us who the Digimon Emperor is!" TK said without hesitation, "I'm certain you know his identity!"

"TK!" Kari called out.

"Weeks ago," TK continued, "Davis said he has an idea who the Digimon Emperor is, but I always suspected that he knew who he was all along but kept that vital information to himself. Say that I'm wrong and that you don't know what I'm talking about Davis!" TK challenged, causing Kari, Yokei and Cody to look back from TK to Davis with wondering eyes, who looked back at them with his silence. Digitamamon and the other Digimon present upon hearing what TK said, also turned their eyes and attention on Davis.

"Is that true Davis?" Kari asked in disbelief, "You mean to say you knew all along the identity of the rogue DigiDestined trying to kill you and conquer the Digital World and you never told us?"

To say Davis was angry at the stunt TK pulled on him in front of everyone including all of the Digimon present would have been a steep understatement; he was completely pissed as TK's words seemingly incriminated him. Regardless, Davis composed himself and kept his tempter in check.

"A question was asked Davis and I think we deserve an explanation!" TK remarked.

 _'Presumptuous as ever, since the first day we meet TK,'_ Davis thought quietly, _'Even the Digimon Emperor saw that about you.'_ Davis then inquired with calm tone, "Tell me something TK, what **_exactly_** could you do if you were to learn who the Digimon Emperor is?" Before TK could reply, Davis stated sternly, "I'll make myself very clear: If you guys challenge the Digimon Emperor directly without me, he'll beat all of you. In these recent battles, had Veemon and I not been there to come and rescue all of you time and again, you all would have been done for."

"Say what?" TK asked, "How did you come to that conclusion?"

Davis enlightened, "I'll break it down so you and everyone here can understand my point:

"In the first mission to retrieve the digi-egg of Courage that Tai found, both Kari and Gatomon would have been trampled and crushed to death by those three Monochromon had Veemon and I not rushed in and saved them despite knowing those three Monochromon were actually trying to kill Veemon and I. You, Tai, Patamon and Agumon were unable to do anything during that attack but watch while my partner and I did all of the work and fighting.

"In the second mission to retrieve the other four digi-eggs, despite my best efforts to make sure you guys were in good hands with Izzy, Sora and their Digimon in company, Kari and Gatomon still got kidnapped with the rest of you guys being overwhelmed and ambushed by the sheer number of Flymon and that Tuskmon that the Digimon Emperor sent out against you guys. Again, I had to hurry and rescue all of you while coming up with a plan to rescue and save Kari and Gatomon while making sure we that managed to get all four of the digi-eggs I found for you guys. Though to be fair, I will say none of you had digi-eggs for armor digivolutions at the beginning of the second mission, and Cody and Yolei didn't have their Digimon partners yet either."

"At least you're willing to acknowledge and admit that much," Cody replied.

"But that unfortunately leads to my next point," Davis countered, "In our third mission involving Matt and Gabumon and _after_ all of you got your respective digi-eggs and Digimon partners, all of us were captured by those Vegiemon and the leading RedVegiemon. Even though I was captured alongside all of you, Veemon and I had to free ourselves and take on RedVegiemon before freeing Matt and the rest of you guys and destroying that control spire.

"Also TK, you, Kari, Yolei and Cody combined couldn't beat me and ExVeemon, even after we made you guys get serious during this battle simulation," Davis pointed out, "And seeing that you guys were no match for ExVeemon even when it was four on one, do you seriously think that at your current strengths that you all can take on the Digimon Emperor and his army on your own? You guys still have a long way to go to get stronger and smarter before thinking you can take on the Digimon Emperor and his forces."

TK, Cody, Yolei and Kari took in everything Davis said and found that he was right in everything he was saying. He broke it down to a science. They saw that as leader Davis not only worked the hardest but he and Veemon made a lot of effort to help and strength them, and save them when ordeals became too much for them to handle on their own.

"Davis, we understand what you mean and I admit that as a team we still have a lot to work on and improve on," TK replied, "But we want you to tell us who the Digimon Emperor is. If I recall from the Digimon Emperor's last conversation with you, you both evidently have some sort of history with each other meaning that you've been keeping many secrets and truths from us and we-"

"I recall his last conversation with me and like I said before, there was no personal war between him and I in the past before," Davis interjected, "And as your leader, I reveal just enough that you and the others can handle and when I deem you and the rest of the group mentally and emotionally ready, I'll reveal more. A wise leader and commander never reveals everything to his team all at once, especially when he knows his platoon isn't ready to learn more just yet. And one of the reasons why I didn't reveal who the Digimon Emperor is because knowing you, Kari, Yolei, Cody and the others, and by others I mean Tai and the older group, you guys will try to confront him in the Real World, something I can't risk!"

"And just why can't we confront and stop him in the Real World!?" TK argued with a raised tone, "It's no secret that he's trying to kill you! You know who our enemy is and it's like you're protecting him by keeping his identity concealed from us!" TK turned to Kari and the others and said, "I say we find and stop the Digimon Emperor in the Real World and end this by getting the police to arrest him!"

"And there you go, proving my point!" Davis remarked as he frowned deeply seeing how TK was trying to overstep and usurp him as leader. Gennai stayed quiet as he decided to carefully watch and see how Davis would handle himself and keep his team in check.

"How can you begin to search for him when you don't even know his name?" Davis asked, "I never revealed his name to any of you. ExVeemon knows his name but he won't reveal it to any of you either."

"Only because you won't let him," TK retorted, "If you tell us who the Digimon Emperor is, then we can bring this whole matter of him trying to kill you to the police before he actually succeeds in doing so!"

"You honestly think the police will listen to us TK?" Yolei asked as she was considering going along with TK's idea.

"I don't see why not," Kari remarked.

"It's worth a shot," Cody said, thinking TK's idea might pan out, "I'm with TK on this one about going after the Digimon Emperor in the Real World."

"You guys are acting recklessly and not carefully thinking things through," Davis said with a disapproving tone with his arms crossed over his chest, "I don't advise any of you trying to get the police involved either," Davis warned, causing TK and the rest of the gang to turn to him, "It will only cause more trouble than it's worth."

"What are you talking about?" TK argued.

"It couldn't hurt to try," Kari said, "Could it Davis?"

"None of you see the bigger picture," Davis said calmly as he shook his head before looking straight at TK, "Your idea won't work at all TK. And I can tell you why."

"Really?" TK challenged, "And how's that?"

"First off," Davis elaborated, "The Digimon Emperor will thoroughly deny everything and accuse all of you of being delusional. He'll say that you guys are victimizing him of harassment and serious false accusations with no proof to show for, especially since he never did anything outright in the Real World against me that the legal system would consider as life threatening.

"Secondly, none of you have anything to show for as plausible evidence and we can't reveal that we're DigiDestined to the legal system either as that would only create more problems for us."

"Most of Tokyo and many other parts of Japan already know that Digimon and a separate universe apart from our world exist Davis," TK reminded.

"Which leads to my third point," Davis countered, "It's true that most if not all of Japan knows about the existence of Digimon and Digital World due to the Digimon Invasion led by Myotismon four years ago. However, the authorities are still unequipped to properly handle Digimon and there are reasons why human governments and the military aren't trusted to handle them. And even if the authorities by some miracle were to believe you guys, it's likely the Digimon Emperor might have a plan to cause chaos in the Real World in retaliation. And because he knows our faces and identities, he might retaliate by unleashing Digimon into the human world and even targeting our own families as payback, which is something we can't risk at all. That's why we must only confront him in the Digital World and not in the Real World. As long as we don't bother him in the Real World there will be no reason for him to cause harm there."

"In that case," TK suggested, "We don't necessarily have to get the authorities involved seeing that the Digimon Emperor didn't do anything incriminating outright in the Real World. Therefore, here's what I suggested we do: we find the Digimon Emperor in the Real World and take his D3 so that he can't return to the Digital World or use his D3 to cause trouble in the human world. Plus, without his D3 he can't digivolve his Digimon slaves either."

Cody, Yolei and Kari thought about TK's idea.

"Now there's an idea," Kari said out loud as she considered the TK's idea, "That could actually work."

TK smiled seeing that he got Kari's support and that of Cody's and Yolei's after he saw them nod their heads in agreement with his idea. Davis had a momentary thoughtful expression as he thought about TK's idea. It was something he hadn't considered himself and thought about the possibilities and the consequences there could be.

"It's true that taking the Digimon Emperor's D3 away from him would reduce our troubles," Davis said.

"So you're in agreement," TK replied, "My idea is a 'go' then."

"I said what you say is true," Davis clarified, "I didn't say that your idea could work."

TK did a double take as Kari and the other looked at Davis questionably.

"What's wrong with TK's idea Davis?" Kari asked.

"While the idea of taking the Emperor's D3 is a good tactic however, it's also not likely to work because you guys are forgetting a most important fact that I brought out just moments ago," Davis stated.

"That being?" TK asked.

"That the Digimon Emperor knows all of our faces and identities, and he won't drop his guard with any of us in the Real World." Davis pointed out.

"What about if two of us went to his home with one us finding the opportunity to sneak into his room and steal his D3 while someone else distracts him?" TK proposed.

"Do you honestly think the Digimon Emperor would openly invite any of us into his home?" Davis asked cynically, "Let alone tell us where he lives? And even if we did find out where he lives, there's no way the Digimon Emperor would be so careless as to leave his D3 unguarded at home considering the fact that none of us leave our D3s unguarded and we take them everywhere we go.

"Going after the Digimon Emperor in the Real World could cause him to use a desperate play and the last thing we need is for our enemy to make a desperate move, because when bad guys become desperate, that's when they're the most dangerous. Again, your ideas won't work TK!"

Frustration was building up in TK as Davis kept shooting him down through logic and valid reasoning. Kari, Yolei and Cody and the Digimon present saw the looks on both of their faces as a mounting tension was building up between the two boys. With everything TK suggested, Davis found flaws and reasons why TK's suggestions would fail.

"You know who the Digimon Emperor is yet you won't take the necessary steps to stop him when he's most vulnerable in the Real World," TK remarked as he looked directly at Davis, "It makes me wonder if choosing you as Tai's replacement and the new leader was the best decision that was made."

Davis rubbed the bridge of his nose as he took several deep breaths to calm himself as TK's behavior and insubordination was testing his patience. Kari wasn't all that happy with TK's last remarks as he openly questioned Davis' leadership and integrity in front of everyone, something Kari had more than once insisted he shouldn't do.

 _'TK had often pissed me off back then, but he's really asking for it this time,'_ Davis privately thought, _'If I was my 'old' younger and reckless self, by now I'd have lost my temper and punched him right in the face or give him a black eye, before getting into a fistfight with him. Kari would have taken TK's side and scolded me far causing a fight he instigated by his scathing verbal remarks about me.'_

Davis was about to say something when Gennai placed his left hand on his right shoulder, preventing him saying anything further when he saw what he was about to do. Davis relented and decided to stay quiet. Gennai then stepped forward to TK and stood in front of him, as he began to speak, "Takeru Takaishi, you've been a DigiDestined longer than anyone in this group. You're very protective of your loved ones, especially after Patamon's sacrifice. You take your duty as a protector of the Digital World seriously. You're optimistic and always try to keep a smile on your face.

"As a small child TK, you were very naive and didn't always understand the big picture, and were more prone to tears than the other children, being the youngest before Kari became part of the group. However, you did your best to keep up with the older children. As a preteen, you're more mature than the average child thanks to your experiences in the Digital World, and you're usually levelheaded and reasonable."

"Well those are positive traits about my partner," Patamon remarked.

"Be that as it may," Gennai said to Patamon, before he changed his tone and returned his gaze back at TK, "But all this still _doesn't_ automatic qualify you to become the new leader and I'll explain why you weren't chosen to be the new leader and Tai's replacement:

"Takeru Takaishi, even now, you often don't understand the big picture behind certain situations, and Davis repeatedly had to explain things to you in order to get you to understand the deeper matters. You act too much on your emotions and don't take time to think things through properly before deciding on the best course of action to take. When dealing with evil you also have some anger issues.

"You're quick to panic and not able to think on the fly when situations turn critical as shown in this test we gave. And from what I observed from your dispute with Davis just moments ago, you would take the entire team to confront an enemy without first knowing and understanding what kind of enemy you're dealing with, which is very dangerous as that would lead the whole team to tragedy if the worst was to happen as Davis had to explain to you and the rest of group.

"You lack the mental and emotional strengths needed to carry the load and responsibility of being leader and your performance during this test along with your previous missions with the team only serve to prove my point that you're not leader material."

TK flinched and cringed after listening to Gennai's detailed evaluation of him. Had Davis made that speech, TK would have tried to look for possible grounds on which to argue on, but he found no grounds on which to argue with Gennai. He turned to Patamon in hopes that his Digimon would come to his defense. But Patamon lowered his head and gaze, not knowing what he could say to dispute Gennai's words. The Rookie Digimon wanted to say something, but he couldn't dispute facts without valid points.

TK looked over at Kari, Yolei and Cody and their Digimon partners to see if any of them would protest Gennai's assessment of him. None of them said a word in protest, especially after listening to Davis' earlier detailed enlightenment about their three previous missions. It was clear whose side the three of them took. Seeing the humbled position he was placed in, TK sat back down and said nothing further.

As she sat quietly, Kari was carefully and deeply thinking about certain factors and events that took place since the time she and TK found out that Davis was a DigiDestined like them. She took a moment to put her thoughts together.

 _'I wonder,'_ Kari contemplated as she turned to look at Davis and asked, "Davis?"

"Yes Kari?" Davis replied.

"I want to ask you something I've been giving a lot of thought to," Kari requested.

"What's your question?" Davis inquired.

"Is the Digimon Emperor the same person who was your partner and comrade who helped you in your second battle against Millenniummon two years ago?" Kari asked straightforwardly, causing TK, Yolei and Cody to immediately turn to Davis. The look of surprise and sadness in Davis' eyes were clear for Kari to see.

"He was, wasn't he?" Kari asked.

"How did you figure it out?" Davis implored.

"I thought back to the day when you first explained the rise of the Digimon Emperor to me and TK," Kari explained, "When TK first asked you if you knew who the Digimon Emperor was, I saw a small glimpse of sadness in your eyes before they hardened with you giving us an evasive answer. And later that same day when you told us the story about your second battle against Millenniummon, you mentioned having a human partner who was summoned to the Digital World to help you. When I asked you who your human partner was, I saw that same look of sadness in your eyes as you refused to reveal his identity for personal reasons.

"Then I started thinking about all the occasions the Digimon Emperor has been targeting both you and Veemon specifically while using Gatomon and I as bait against you on more than one occasion. I started seeing a pattern to how the Digimon Emperor was operating against you, forcing you into rescue situations where chances of you losing your life had a high percentile. I came to realize that one of the reasons behind your reluctance in revealing the identity of the Digimon Emperor is because he was your human partner and former male best friend who betrayed and turned on you, becoming the Digimon Emperor who not only seeks total domination over the Digital World but a means to kill and end your life."

Davis stood there quietly as he processed everything he heard from Kari. He was speechless in how Kari managed to piece together who the Digimon Emperor used to be in connection with Davis' past.

"I'm amazed you figured all of that out by just taking notice of the smaller details about me in order to piece together an even bigger picture concerning me," Davis remarked.

"So there was bad blood that developed between both you and your former comrade," TK said.

"It was nothing of that sort TK," Davis corrected, "…However, my human partner becoming the Digimon Emperor was my greatest failure…it's entirely my fault all this happened and why so many Digimon are suffering."

"What!?" Yolei replied as she and the others looked at Davis with disbelieving expressions.

"What do you mean?" Kari inquired as she didn't want to believe what Davis was saying.

"Two years ago during the final moments battling Millenniummon for a second time alongside my human partner," Davis explained, "I was careless and dropped my guard because I foolishly assumed that monstrous Digimon was about to be completely destroyed once and for all. In desperation, using his last remaining power, Millenniummon fired an attack directly at me in the form of a dozen or more dark spores of some type. Seeing the attack coming, my partner ran and tackled me to the ground and used himself as a human shield to protect and save me while he himself took the blow from one of those spores in my place.

"Ever since that incident, that dark spore that got shot into him gradually corrupted and turned him against me as he rose to power as the Digimon Emperor. My partner and friend became the tyrant we're fighting because of my careless mistake. I've been working and doing everything I could to correct my mistake and fix the damage done ever since. My partner saved me from becoming the monster and tyrant who we're now fighting. I owe it to him to try as best as I can to save him before he's irreversibly gone beyond redemption."

The group and those listening to Davis were left completely speechless. For a brief moment, they didn't know what to think or how to react after listening to Davis' explanation about the events that led to the rise of the Digimon Emperor. They never suspected that Millenniunmon's final act would leave behind his legacy in the form of a DigiDestined he directly corrupted. As Kari sat there, she then recalled Joe's words about Davis a few weeks ago:

 _"Davis was forced to learn to handle himself and save all of the Digimon and the Digital World without any help from us or any other known DigiDestined. Since then, he's been doing secret explorations and investigations of the Digital World on his own without any of us knowing about it for the last few years…Davis' experiences in the Digital World had a far heavier degree than our own since he was alone and he fought someone who was worse than Apocalymon. I wouldn't have been able to handle even close to a quarter of the things he did and went through at the age of eight, let alone cope with it…in Davis' case, it forced him to mentally grow and mature a lot faster than most normal youths his age."_

 _'Davis has been suffering in carrying the weight of his guilt alone for all this time,'_ Kari thought as a few tears formed in her eyes before they ran down her face, _'Up till now, he never told me or anyone else. Was he scared we condemn and turn on him as well?'_ Kari wiped away her tears as they were falling down her face.

 _'I had no idea Davis was going through all these hardships alone for these past two years,'_ Yolei thought sympathetically, _'He hid his pain so well behind his smiles and optimism.'_

"So the Digimon Emperor became who he is because Millenniummon in his final moments implanted this dark spore into him that was originally meant to be implanted into you," TK reiterated.

"Exactly," Davis confirmed.

"Your DigiDestined partner became wicked because of that horrible Digimon you destroyed?!" Patamon asked.

"It's hard to believe how even after being destroyed, Millenniummon found way to indirectly continue persecuting you and the rest of the Digital World," Gatomon commented.

"Well that helps to explain the similarities between Millenniummon and the Digimon Emperor's vicious and barbaric nature," Digitamamon remarked.

"Were you able to come up with any method to remove and destroy the dark spore that's been implanted into your partner?" TK asked.

"If I had come up with one TK I'd have used it already and prevented all that's happening now from happening," Davis replied with an annoyed expression.

"OK, stupid question, I admit it," TK said.

"What kind of person was your partner like before he was corrupted?" Cody inquired. Davis stopped to think for a minute and their answered, "He was a caring and kindhearted individual; the type of person who always looked out for his friends and loved ones. He was also very smart and the type of guy who wanted to find ways to fix problems rather than cause them. Honestly he was more kind and caring than me."

"It's tragic what happened to your friend Davis, I won't deny that," Kari said, "At the same time though…I'm happy that it wasn't you who became the Digimon Emperor. You being the closest person to me, I don't think my heart would have been able to take it. Knowing myself, I'd have fallen into a deep depression and felt completely lost and heartbroken knowing that my best and closest friend not only turned against me, but also against Tai and Sora. I think you'd have been a far worse enemy than the one we're fighting against, especially after seeing how you'd have done things as the Digimon Emperor. Not to sound pessimistic, but you'd have beaten us and the older group."

"What's to be pessimistic about?" Yolei remarked, "Davis DID beat us, four on one, with the four of us being outmatched and not enough to handle ExVeemon."

"What's all the ruckus about?" Joe Kido asked as he, Tai, Sora, Matt and Izzy were making their way to the group with Gomamon, Agumon, Biyomon, Gabumon and Tentomon in their company.

"Tai!" Kari called out

"Matt!" TK greeted.

"Nice to see all of you guys too," Agumon said, "But from the look of things, it's quite clear that you guys took a serious beat down."

"We did," TK confirmed as he sourly turned to Davis, "Thanks to Davis and ExVeemon. They're the reason why our Digimon are all bandaged up."

"Really now?" Tai inquired.

"Davis and Gennai both set us up on this brutal test even though it came with a hard lesson to learn from," Kari added, "So they say."

The older group looked over at Gatomon, Patamon, Hawkmon and Armdillomon, seeing the extent of the injuries Davis' partner inflicted on them as they were being medically treated by the medic Digimon on hand. Kari, Yolei, Cody and TK thought that Tai, being the previous leader, was going to scold and sternly reprimand Davis for his actions in having his Digimon partner battle and practically hospitalize his Digimon comrades. That was until…

"You assured us that you wouldn't take things too far Davis!" Tai said with a displeased tone.

"And I didn't!" Davis retorted, "I took it to the level I told you and the others I felt was necessary! ExVeemon was holding back the entire time when I could have had him do so much worse!"

"The conditions these four Digimon are in speak for themselves Davis," Joe commented as he and Gomamon went over to exam the wounded Digimon, "Though I will admit that you did warn us ahead of time that your proposed test will leave them out of commission for a while."

Kari, TK, Cody and Yolei blinked and did a double take at what they were hearing and seeing.

"Wait just a minute!?" Kari retorted in disbelief as she looked back from Joe to Tai, "You mean to say you guys knew about Davis' test the entire time!?"

"We did," Sora confessed with a touched a guilt in her voice.

"And yet you guys didn't warn us!?" TK asked as he looked at Matt angrily.

"There's more to the story than you think TK," Matt replied.

"Gennai and Davis informed me, Sora and the rest of the gang about this test secretly," Tai explained, "And Gennai made it very clear not to tell any of you about it. I'm sorry but Davis with Gennai backing him up made sure cover all bases with us before this test was executed."

"So much for having Tai and the others hear about what Davis has done here TK," Cody remarked, "Davis was clever in informing them about it first and beating us to the punch."

"Very funny Cody," Yolei replied.

"I'm sure that one of the reasons why Davis told the older group about the test first was so that they wouldn't have to find out after it happened and possible want to kick his ass for it," TK remarked.

 _'Like I'd let them,'_ Davis thought to himself.

"Regardless," Izzy said, "It wasn't easy for any of us to stay quiet about this. The truth is that we originally didn't approve of Davis' intended Trial By Fire test."

"You mean you guys didn't just simply agree about staying quiet and allowing this test to be done?" Yolei asked.

"It wasn't easy for Davis to get us to cooperate even with Gennai being present during our meeting with him here," Sora revealed, "And tensions escalated when Tai and Matt got into a heated argument with Davis and Gennai about it. Both of them were vehemently against Davis' test at first since it involved their young siblings. But Davis didn't cower or back down one bit even when both Tai and Matt were ready to slug it out with him."

"The argument between Matt, Tai and Davis really went that far?" TK with a surprised expression.

"It was Davis' manner of talking like he was the adult and we were the children that got on our nerves," Tai remarked.

"That's because you and Matt were screaming threats and bloody murder instead of listening to me," Davis reminded, "It made explaining the purpose of my Trial By Fire test difficult and it added to my frustration in trying to get guys to cooperate. I was left with no choice but to scold both you for your hardheadedness and overprotective behavior."

"And Matt and Tai didn't take that too well either," Joe remarked as he shook his head, "Me, Sora, Izzy and our Digimon had to restrain them as their tempers flared at you, Davis."

"If you must know Joe," Davis replied, "I expected Tai and Matt to react aggressively towards me. What I was asking of them was no easy request."

"It's true that neither Davis nor myself expected any of you to willingly allow him to go through with what he was going to do without hearing us out first," Gennai spoke up, "Initiating this test behind your backs would have led to problems of trust with the team's safety you guys would had with Davis that he didn't need."

"Not to mention my leadership and methods of doing things would have been questioned as result on top of that," Davis added, _'Not that it wasn't questioned earlier.'_

"You guys really got that upset at Davis?" Kari asked.

"It wasn't until I intervened and firmly told Tai and the rest of the older DigiDestined not to cause another outburst and to pay attention to the explanations Davis and I had to give them," Gennai spoke up.

"Well how did the test go?" Tai inquired.

"Davis and ExVeemon played the role of villains most convincingly," Kari remarked, "Take my word for it, Davis isn't someone you want for enemy. He was worse than the actual Digimon Emperor."

"Prodigious! He was that cutthroat?" Izzy inquired with expression of interest.

"That's putting it lightly," TK commented. Yolei turned to Davis, and apologized, "Davis, about what I said earlier…I'm sorry I called you a cruel leader and teacher. I was just so angry and hurt by the whole ordeal before fully hearing you and Gennai out."

"Your anger at me was justifiable Yolei," Davis assured, "I'd have reacted in the same way in your place if the roles were switched. I just hope you don't hold it against me in the future."

"We'll have to see," Yolei remarked, "But I would like to know something."

"Yes?" Davis asked.

"How were you able to imitate the Digimon Emperor's voice so perfectly?" Yolei asked.

"Sorry Yolei, but that's a secret that I must keep to myself," Davis replied. What he didn't tell them was that he was using a small voicing alternating device in his mouth that Andromon designed and built for him. The device allowed him to copy and imitate any voice he chose be it male or female. ExVeemon, seeing that there was no approaching danger, reverted back to his rookie form and went over to his Digimon comrades.

"You guys gave Davis and I a good fight regardless of the outcome," Veemon spoke after a long period of silence, "Your teamwork had me shaken up a few times and I will say I learned a lot from it."

Veemon went over to Gatomon and stood next to her. Though she forgave him however, she still glared at him for his convincing deception about being under the influence of the dark ring.

"I'll remember this Draco!" Gatomon groaned as she was still being treated for her injuries, "Next time we spar, I'll be sure to ram my claws deep into your scales!"

"Why wait Tigress?" Veemon remarked with a mischievous smile, "You can sink your fangs and claws into me any time. You know I love it rough."

"Draco! Ooww!" Gatomon exclaimed with a solid blush on her face before she winced from the pain her sudden movement caused. Veemon chuckled at his girlfriend's reactions.

"I never knew Veemon can speak with such charisma," Sora remarked.

"I can't believe Veemon is bold enough to flirt with Gatomon after the stunt he pulled on us," a bandaged Hawkmon said.

"I don't think Veemon is all that worried about what Gatomon intends to do to him after she's healed up," Armadillomon commented, "But I'm still sore about the whole idea of him looking ready to assimilate us."

"Oh c'mon guys!" Veemon said, "Davis and I were just acting and we had to make it look convincing."

"Using me an airborne bowling ball against the others was no act!" Hawkmon snorted, "And the pain we're in is convincing enough!"

"It was nothing personal like Davis repeatedly said earlier," Veemon replied.

"I recall you saying you'll crush and melt me down for scrap before blasting whatever was left of me into the sun," Armadillomon recalled.

"Veemon and I quoted that line and the one about crushing you guys from that Megatron guy from Transformers: Armada in some episodes we watched online the other day," Davis revealed, "We thought those lines sounded funny so we decided to use them."

"And that speech about you offering me to become your Digimon Empress?" Kari asked, "You said that offer was genuine."

"You asked my sister to become your Digimon Empress while posing as the Digimon Emperor, Davis?" Tai inquired with a raised eyebrow.

"A conquering ruler must always have his queen at his right hand side, Tai," Davis jokingly replied.

"He also offered the rest of us to become his elite generals if we were to join his side," Cody added, "Davis really gave a convincing act as a tyrannical enemy."

"I almost wish I was around to watch the whole thing play out," Matt commented, "I'm sure it was quite a show."

"It was," Davis replied, and then with false disappointment he added, "But sorry to say, Kari turned my offer down to become my Digimon Empress."

"You were posing as the Digimon Emperor Davis so of course I'd refused you!" Kari replied, and then smiled, "But I'm willing to accept that offer about you becoming my personal slave boy Davis."

"Your personal slave boy!?" Tai asked before before images of Davis being barefooted and wearing nothing but his underwear while being in chains linked with handcuffs fastened around his hands and a chained collar fastened around his neck with Kari dressed in a tight black leotard-like leather dominatrix outfit with black leather gloves and boots and holding a whip in her hand came to mind:

 _"I'm sorry mistress. Forgive me," Davis pleaded meekly while on his hands and knees in front of Kari._

 _"You dare beg for forgiveness?" Kari asked as she cracked her whip on him._

 _"More," Davis whimpered lowly with a submissive tone._

Tai cringed and shuddered at the visuals that came to mind before he turned and looked over at Davis and exclaimed loudly, "What kind of freakish bondage thing were you suggesting for Kari to do with you!? I never thought you were into that kind of thing!"

"What the hell are you talking about!?" Davis asked with a confused look on his face and then immediately replied, "You know what, forget that I asked! I'd rather not know!" Davis turned to Kari and said, "Sorry Kari, that offer was given while I was pretending to be the Digimon Emperor, not while I was being myself. So it's not happening."

"You can become my personal slave boy then since Kari turned the offer down," Yolei spoke up, "You did ask if I wanted to substitute in Kari's place."

"And just as in Kari's case, I asked that while pretending to be the Digimon Emperor, not while being myself," Davis teased, "Therefore neither of you will be having me as your slave boy, period."

"Regardless," Kari said, "I still intend to make you make it up to us dearly for that cutthroat test you threw on us."

"Your Digimon are being medicated, healed and treated for all their injuries and all of you guys and the Digimon, along with Tai and the crew will be fed the nice banquet that's being prepared by Digitamamon and his team with my complements," Davis replied, "And considering the amount of work that went into preparing all that alone, I think that's payment enough."

"Tigress is enough for me," Veemon remarked.

"Meaning what exactly?" Gatomon asked. Veemon looked back at her and replied, "What I mean is, after they leave for school, I'm going to eat you today pussycat."

Kari blinked for a moment, before her eyes narrowed and looked straight at Davis.

"…Davis," Kari hissed, "Care to explain?"

"Pure coincidence, I swear," Davis chuckled, "But you might want to hide Gatomon the pussycat in your backpack now before heading off back to school if you know what I mean."

"Davis!" Kari growled seeing how Davis was teasing her about that topic again. Davis was chuckling louder as Kari slowly made her way over to him. Seeing this, Davis asked with the same snicker coming from his mouth, "Why are you so angry at me? I warned you about how Veemon looks at Gatomon hungrily. And now he wants to have and eat him some pus-"

Davis didn't get to finish when Kari tried to smack him across the head. Davis quickly ducked, allowing Kari's right hand to pass over him. Standing back up, Davis took off running while laughing with Kari chasing after him in hot pursuit.

"GET BACK HERE DAVIS! I GOT A BONE TO PICK WITH YOU!" Kari screamed while running after Davis.

"DAMN IT KARI! CAN'T YOU TAKE A JOKE?!" Davis yelled, "FOR A CHOSEN CHILD OF LIGHT, YOU SURE DO HAVE A DARK SIDE!"

"YOU TAKE THAT BACK!" Kari yelled back as she continued running after him. Meanwhile, everyone else was watching the comical scene while trying to make sense of it.

"The Digimon Emperor wants to do him in using his army of enslaved Digimon: No problem Davis says! He pisses Kari off this bad: he runs!" TK remarked, "I mean, really!? Why did Kari get this worked up for something so minor when she didn't act this way earlier after that whole test ordeal? I don't get her!"

"It's an inside joke between Tai, Davis, Kari and myself that goes back a few years TK," Sora explained with a grin.

"So what's the story behind this inside joke between you guys?" TK asked as he wanted a cleared understanding of the whole matter.

"You want Kari to chase after you and beat you up like how she wants to do so with Davis now?" Tai asked.

"Enough said," TK said, "Better him than me."

"Knowing Davis, he'll pull a miracle to get Kari to calm down and listen to reasoning," Cody figured out loud, "He usually does anyway."

"STOP MAKING FUN OF ME!" Kari yelled from a distance from the group, "JUST WAIT TILL I GET MY HANDS ON YOU DAVIS!"

"That might be a while if Davis doesn't dig his hole deeper," TK remarked while grinning at the sight of Davis running from Kari.

"I wouldn't say so," Cody remarked, "From what I observed about Davis, he's not afraid of her or any of us. Davis is running from Kari simply for his own amusement and deep down, I'm sure Kari knows that too."

TK thought about what Cody said and knew that the younger boy was right in his assessment of Davis. Still, TK and the others couldn't help but wonder what was the story behind that inside joke that got Kari so worked up.

While all this was going on, no one noticed an invisible spectrum watching them from the forest as the figure's form shifted into a visible form to reveal a chameleon looking Digimon with a dark ring fastened around its neck blending in with one of the trees. He was watching the scene with the DigiDestined and Digimon play out in front of him.

* * *

(Meanwhile At An Unknown Location)

Ken, in his Digimon Emperor attire, was sitting in his chair carefully watching the unfolding events on monitors through the camera of his spy chameleon Digimon. Wormmon was standing next to his partner while watching the scene with Kari yelling and chasing after Davis. After a moment, Ken shut off the monitor screens, and stood up off his chair. Wormmon looked at Ken as he was wondering what he was thinking about so quietly. Soon, Wormmon heard faint crackles coming from Ken before he burst into an all-out maniacal laughter.

"Davis posed as me, tricked his team into believing I captured him and then used his Digimon to beat the living crap out of his own team before saying that it was all one big test," Ken laughed, "I'm torn between feeling flattered that he used my image as his cover for beating some sense into his team and inspired that his brutal test gave me a whole new idea that even I never thought of!"

"It's good to see that Davis was able to have a positive influence on you," Wormmon remarked, "I always thought you could learn a lot from him."

"Oh did I learn from watching him in action and seeing his and Veemon's ruthless methods," Ken remarked, "Hell, the way those two played the roles would have convinced me that they switched sides. While I wouldn't necessarily offer them the opportunity to join me however, I did enjoy watching Davis have his teammates beg for their Digimon's lives in exchange for their surrender while making no condition that their leader would live. At the very least both him and Veemon are aware that their fates are sealed. However…"

"However what?" Wormmon asked.

"Veemon's assimilation power is unique and there's no other Digimon in the Digital World with that ability," Ken contemplated, "I recall seeing him assimilate Cyberdramon two years ago. He's gotten stronger and faster as a result and that Red Eye attack he used on those armored steed Digimon was from a Devidramon he assimilated at some point in time."

Wormmon looked at Ken who seemed to be in deep thought about something.

"Watching Davis' past battles and his test against his team accompanied by Veemon's power of assimilation have given me a lot to think about Wormmon," Ken said as he starting making his way to the exit, "I'm going have to come up with a more effective way of dealing with those two and put them in checkmate, permanently."

"He didn't reveal your identity to his team despite being pressured by them to do so Ken," Wormmon reminded, "Clearly Davis still sees you as his best friend and partner, and is trying to save you!"

Angered by what he heard, Ken viciously kicked Wormmon away from him and into the steel wall. Wormmon gradually picked himself off the ground and looked over at Ken with saddened eyes, _'At least I better understand what really happened to you Ken and why Davis so desperately wants to save you from the dark spore that possessed and corrupted you,'_ Wormmon thought.

"Davis' futile efforts are being wasted," Ken replied venomously, "I don't need to be saved, which will be more than I can say for him and Veemon by the time I'm through with them."

Wormmon didn't say another word as Ken exited the monitoring room, leaving Wormmon alone with his thoughts.

"He's getting worse," Wormmon remarked sadly, "I hope Davis and Veemon can come up with a solution to help Ken soon."

* * *

 **Davis' surprise Trial By Fire test he gave his team is over with his team's Digimon partners temporarily out of commission. What will Ken do with all but Veemon unable to fight? How will Wormmon cope now that he knows how Ken was corrupted and became the Digimon Emperor? What new dangers will Davis and his team face with Ken's spies following them aroun? All this and more next time on Digimon 02: Epoch.**


	9. Chapter Nine: D Harmony

**Chapter Nine: "D Harmony"**

* * *

(Two Weeks Later; At The Ichijouji Residence)

Ken was in his room sitting at his desk in front of his laptop. For the past couple of days, he had been studying the events that had taken place in the Digital World with regards to Davis and his team. He was especially interested in Davis' test in how he had his own Digimon pretend to be under his, Ken's, control and beat the crap out of the other Digimon. While entertaining to watch, it gave Ken a lot to contemplate on as he decided to re-plan some of his ideas.

While he was studying Davis' prowess and leadership capabilities, at times Ken couldn't help but take a moment to admire Yolei whenever her face pop up on the screen while replaying the recorded videos he got from his enslaved spy Digimon. Ken had formed a romantic interest in the lavender haired girl. Ten days earlier he had the pleasure of having another run-in with Yolei and like before, he managed to persuade her into joining him for a hangout, this time at a chess club he was a member of. While Yolei's skills at chess weren't anywhere near his or Davis', she still participated in playing a couple of games with Ken and lost in all of them. Regardless, she still had a fun time with Ken and said she learned a lot from their games.

Four days ago, Ken and Yolei hanged out again, and the place he took her to was Shinjuku, a spot in Tokyo with a lot of attractions, shops and gaming spots. It was after that occasion Ken finally managed to get Yolei's number with her getting his. For Ken, it was a major victory and step in getting Yolei to move on from her romantic interest in his rival, Davis, whom Ken wanted out of the way of his goals in conquering the Digital World.

And speaking of conquering the Digital World, Ken decided to see what new approach he could put into action to help better his chances in beating Davis. It went without say that Veemon was a tough fighter after the war against Millenniummon, but fortunately Ken knew for a fact that Davis' greatest weapon and instrument, the golden digi-egg of Miracles, was no longer in his possession. Still, despite this lack of their greatest weapon, Davis and Veemon were still a powerful team which left Ken puzzled on how to deal with them accordingly. He considered perhaps using Davis' own teammates against him, but after watching the videos of Patamon, Gatomon, Hawkmon and Armadillomon in the occasions they battled and their test against ExVeemon, Ken deemed them useless and nowhere near strong enough to give either Davis and Veemon a challenge.

He then started watching videos that featured Tai and the rest of the other group with their Digimon partners. Despite Davis and his team being the new main force that fought to protect the Digital World, Tai and his old teammates still tended to join up occasionally to help out however they could, although their efforts were mostly in vain thanks to his control spires suppressing their abilities to digivolve their partners.

Ken decided to do some research on their Digimon and see what he could gather about them.

* * *

(A Week Later; In The Digital World)

Davis, shirtless and only in his black sweatpants, socks and sneakers, was with Veemon in a quiet and isolated part of the forest in the DigiWorld that they always used as their personal gym. He spent his first two hours exercising; jump roping and jogging with Veemon with some moderate weightlifting with free weights and bench presses. During his previous life as a young adult, Davis was heavily influenced by some of America's ideas of bodybuilding and strength training. While he never went crazy in trying become a musclebound bodybuilder, Davis, when he was in his early twenties, took the time to actually build up his body structure, muscles and strength to a moderate level to suit his love of soccer.

Back then, while he aimed to become a successful business titan however, he didn't want to look physically puny. His athletic pride wouldn't allow for that, which was why he set up and always kept to a healthy exercising and weighting lifting routine up to the point when he reached his late twenties before the whole time-space dimensional reboot of his life and history.

Despite the reboot, Davis and Veemon maintained their routine rather than discarding it. And the fact that Davis was allowed to keep his improved strength, agility, stamina and speed he worked for during his years as an adult helped to augment and improve his body's abilities and agility faster, which proved to be of great use to him during his more dangerous battles in the Digital World, especially during the time he and the army he was leading were warring against Millenniummon and his forces. As a result, Davis ended up with a nice toned muscular built for a 13-year-old man-boy.

"I think we did enough for today," Davis remarked as he finished his last set of muscle-ups on a stationed horizontal pole he and Veemon impaled into a tree, "Wouldn't you say so Veemon?"

"You mean for your routine morning training sessions before school?" Veemon replied, "When are they ever enough?"

"You got me," Davis shrugged before gathering all of his belongings together, "Ending it with muscle-ups always help keep my blood pumping. C'mon, let's get back before Jun pops into my room again hoping to wake me up with one of her guitar solos."

"I hardly think a lot of time passed in the Real World, Davis," Veemon reminded, "By the time we get back I doubt even two minutes went by."

"True," Davis acknowledged, "But that at least gives us some time to rest up before we have to head off to school. By the way, how are things with you and the others?"

"Things between me and the other Digimon got better, though it took them a while to get over how we tricked them with our "Trial By Fire" test," Veemon answered, "Ever since then, they came to see how much they needed to improve and strengthen themselves and now they ask me to help train and practice with them," Veemon folded his arms across his chest and snorted, "The only problem is that they always want me to play the role of the bad Digimon they have to battle against while they team up against me."

"We royally thrashed them Veemon," Davis reminded, "And that was while we were still holding back. One-on-one they'll lose against you, so they're trying to beat you as a team."

"And they still lose," Veemon replied with a mischievous smile, "You think I'll let them topple me that easily? But it only serves to push them to keep training themselves harder while keeping an expectation that it'll eventually lead to my defeat at their hands."

"Will you let them beat you?" Davis asked.

"Will you let TK or anyone else beat you Davis?" Veemon shot back.

"Hell No!" Davis exclaimed.

"Enough said," Veemon replied with a mutual tone, before changing it to a more curious one, "By the way, are the others still sore about the whole test?"

"They eventually got over it," Davis said, "Having Tai and the others well aware of it ahead of time help us out a lot. It was annoying how the group was so quick to point fingers at me despite stating multiple times how so many other people and Digimon were involved. I still have to keep reminding myself of their age and how there's a massive mental age gap between me and them."

"Did you tell Kari whether or not you want to date her or Yolei?" Veemon asked.

"After that whole "Trial By Fire" test you'd think I'd bring that up anytime soon?" Davis retorted, "Waiting for things to calm down first is the wise choice to go with. But I know Kari will want an answer from me soon."

"Her feelings for you are sincere from everything you told me," Veemon stated, "And she made it very clear that she's not romantically interested in TK. I'm not surprised that she didn't revert back to her old habits of her previous life in looking for opportunities to make you jealous by flirting with TK in front of you."

"It's funny you should say that," Davis said, "Because when I brought up the idea of her flirting with TK or possibly leading him on knowing how much he likes her, she got upset with a look of disgust, finding that toying with someone's emotions like that to be cruel."

"And like I told you," Veemon said, "You're dealing with a completely different Kari, not the one from your first life. And the same can be said of Yolei as well."

"I know," Davis said, "And it makes me wonder if their rivalry will prevent them from becoming DNA digivolving partners in the future."

"Wow!" Veemon realized, "You know, I honestly never considered that possibility."

"Well we don't know that for sure," Davis said, "We'll have to see how things play out."

"Depending on which of the two girls you'll choose," Veemon said, "If either of them. It makes me wonder sometimes how you would have handled things between those two girls now if you were your "old" younger self."

"If I was my "old" younger self then I'd have immediately gone for Kari," Davis said without hesitation, "Having her would have been all that mattered."

"So why not go for Kari then?" Veemon asked.

"Because part of me also likes this new version of Yolei," Davis said, "Like I told you a few weeks earlier, I see traits in both girls I really like and I see both of them as girlfriend material."

Veemon was about to say something but stop when Davis continued speaking…

"Kari however confessed her feelings for me first," Davis said, "She told me how she wants to be more than just my best friend."

"So with regards to Yolei," Veemon asked, "Do you see yourself with her, doing things with her as a couple? Holding hands with her, going on dates with her, kissing her and ultimately mating with her?"

"It would be a lie if I said I never had such fantasies for Yolei sometimes as I do about Kari," Davis admitted, "Even back then during our first lives, as much as Yolei have gotten on my nerves, there were times I fantasied about screwing her brains out. But those fantasies were purely out of feelings of lust, not love. But I never dwelled too much on those ideas since we didn't get along well and she was too much into Ken before finally being able to go out with him."

"And after the test we put the group through," Veemon asked, "Which of the two girls, despite their anger towards you, was still protective of you to the point of getting the others to back off from you so you could explain why they were put through that harsh test?"

"Kari," Davis answered candidly.

"That's right Davis," Veemon said, "I saw and watched the whole thing. Yolei was more open to venting her anger and words out at you."

"Considering what we did Veemon and how brutal we were against them and their Digimon, I honestly can't hold that against Yolei," Davis countered, "I'd have reacted the same way if someone did what we did to you Veemon if the roles were switched."

"That's true," Veemon admitted, and then added, "But Kari was in more control of her emotions and reserved her words and judgment towards you until she heard the whole story about why we and the others did what we did. As angry as she was at you, Kari was still willing to listen to us first as hard as it was for her instead of jumping to wrong conclusions. Despite whatever her feelings and thoughts were right after that test was completed, she still took your side and defended you from the others. If you ask me Davis, those are gem-like traits Kari has that you don't see very often and it shows me that she'll faithfully stay by your side even if you make certain decisions that the others would heatedly disagree and turn on you for.

"Not only that Davis, but she studied your actions and read your emotions so clearly that she managed to piece together that your best male friend was not only your former partner but is the Digimon Emperor. Kari may not be able to catch on to your higher intellectual expressions and figure of speeches as Yolei does whenever you make them, but when it comes to your inner feelings and deeper thoughts, Kari knows you better than anyone else. This is the version of Kari you would have fell in love with had you met her in our first lives Davis, because it's the same with me and Gatomon.

"But the only things that are holding you back Davis are your doubts, your reluctance to be honest with yourself and your constant reminders of the Kari from your past life who played with your feelings and broke your heart. You're not being fair to this new Kari by comparing her to the one who hurt you!"

Davis visibly flinched when he heard that, feeling like he was given a proverbial slap to his face. In truth, he didn't realize how unfair and thoughtless he was being by continuously reminding himself of how the old Kari would have behaved and handled things in the new Kari's place. When Davis thought about his partner's relationship with Gatomon, he realized how Veemon managed to have a happy and healthy relationship with the feline Digimon because he learned to let go of his past and not compare her to the Gatomon from before.

"This version of Kari loves you for you and is waiting for you Davis," Veemon continued, "Just like how Sora was waiting for Tai to go after her. He'd have lost out to Matt like last time had he made the same mistakes that you're about to make if you don't wake up and admit to yourself that deep down you carry strong feelings for Kari!"

Davis was silent as the took in everything his Digimon partner was telling him. It still amazed and left Davis dumbfounded seeing how much Veemon changed and matured over the years.

"When did you become so wise and mature?" Davis asked.

"I lived and been around for a very long time Davis," Veemon joked, "Plus I learned from watching you, and then there's my own experiences. I hope that I was able to help you in any way or form."

"You always have Veemon, even now," Davis said, "And thanks for helping me see things clearer. I'll seriously contemplate on them. But as I do so, let's continue packing our things and head back."

Veemon nodded his head and went along with what Davis advised they do.

* * *

(In the Real World; An Hour And Ten Minutes Later)

Jun was coming out of her room having finished dressing herself in her high school uniform. Rather than having her hair spiked as she normally did, she allowed her burgundy hair to fall calmly straight down passed her shoulders. She hummed happily until she saw Davis, full dressed in his school clothes, sitting in the living room thinking deeply about something.

"Hey Davis," Jun greeted as she went over to him, "Why are so serious this morning? Is something the matter?"

"Just something I've been thinking a lot about lately," Davis answered.

"It's nothing for me to be worried about, is it?" Jun asked.

"No, not really," Davis said as he looked up at her, "But there is something I'd like to know if you don't mind me asking."

"And what's that?" Jun inquired curiously.

"What kind of boyfriend would you want?" Davis asked, catching Jun completely off guard.

"What kind of boyfriend I would want?" Jun repeated, "I'm surprised you asked considering how you are around me."

"Meaning what exactly?" Davis asked before Jun moved and sat next to him on the sofa as she crossed her right leg over her left leg. She smiled and wrapped her right arm around him and pulled him closer to her as she said, "What I mean is that you're caring and protective of me, and for good reasons. I'll tell you what I want in a boyfriend and why, but before I do…you must first give me your sworn word that you won't get creeped out and look at me funny. You swear it?"

"I swear it," Davis assured, "I won't break my sworn promise."

With his sworn word given, Jun revealed, "I want a guy who's a lot like you Davis."

"A guy who's a lot like me?" Davis asked with a surprised tone and expression, "That was unexpected. But why would you want a boyfriend who reminds you so much of me?"

"Because you had the biggest positive influence in my life," Jun said, "It's true that some girls, but not all of us, hook up with guys who's much like our fathers and some guys get with girls who remind them of their mothers. But in my case, I'm interested in guys whose characteristics and traits remind me of you."

' _I can't help but feel the complete awkwardness of this conversation as it keeps reminding me of the night I found Jun drunk and heartbroken by her ex-boyfriend,'_ Davis thought, _'Over the years, I kept telling myself that when she intensely kissed me by accident when she was drunk that it was her ex-boyfriend's name she called out to afterwards and that his name just so happened to sound similar to mine. But I knew that wasn't true at all. It wasn't his name she called, it was mine. I just didn't want to admit it to myself at the time,'_ Davis then asked, "What is it about my characteristics and personality that makes you want those qualities in your future boyfriend?"

"For starters," Jun began explaining, "You're amazingly mature and wise for your age, more so than some actual adults I know. You give off this vibe of an accomplished and established man."

 _'It can be safe to say that it's because I'm an actual grown man inside this de-aged body,'_ Davis thought privately as he continued to listen to his older sister.

"Plus, you're a dependable person I can confide in and I know you'll listen to me patiently," Jun continued, "Though we sometimes have our differences and disagreements, you're the one who tries to mediate and fix things between us though I do my share of that also. But what truly amazes me is how over the years you've changed so drastically from that loud and brash eight-year-old boy to the renowned child prodigy you are now. I watched you worked hard and diligently to live up to your sworn word to better and improve yourself and character and…," Jun took a moment to pause and gather the rest of her thoughts together, "…it was always my greatest shame that as your older sister I didn't believe in you back then and I doubted you living up to your word. I didn't think you could do it and thought that you were just all talk.

"But you proved me wrong completely and silenced everything I questioned and doubted about you. Watching you inspired me to want to follow your example and be like you, even going as far as learning a musical instrument like you did. It was also part of my way of saying "I'm sorry" for not believing in you when I should have back then."

"I never knew how deeply my actions affected you Jun," Davis confessed, "I would have never thought considering that I'm the younger brother."

"With the way you carry and conduct yourself it makes me wonder if I'm in fact the younger sibling of the both of us," Jun joked.

"You can start calling me senpai if you feel that way about me," Davis replied with a touch of humor.

"Not happening little bro," Jun shot back before ruffling his hair, "Do you remember that day on our way to school when you made that declaration to me about how you were going to change and improve yourself and your academics?"

"I do," Davis said, "You didn't believe me like you said and you started ridiculing and making fun of me also that day."

"I never said this but when you reprimanded me for my actions and the things I was saying about you," Jun confessed, "As strange as it was, I felt like a child being chastised by an adult. And it was because of that look in your eyes."

"That look in my eyes?" Davis asked, "What do you mean?"

"It's hard to explain," Jun elaborated, "But it was a look in your eyes I've never saw before, it was as though you've completely changed. I don't know if I was hallucinating but that look I saw made me feel like I was looking into the eyes of a man. It was like you were an entirely different person who's seen years and experiences in life that I couldn't begin to understand. What I felt from it actually intimidated and startled me as it was a look that command respect. It was a look in your eyes I never saw before in my life and ever since then I started looking at you differently as you lived up to your word about changing yourself to who you are now. It was mind blowing to say the least."

As Davis listened carefully to Jun's explanation, he recalled what Kari words to him:

 _"Since the time we were eight years old I saw through your eyes that you've changed and that you were completely different from how you use to be. It was as though you underwent a complete transformation. Over the years, I've tried to figure you out as I watched you change from a foolhardy goofy boy always wanting to prove something to everyone to a modest, mature and highly intelligent individual who's now one of Japan's top gifted students. It was mind blowing for me to say the least."_

"It's interesting Jun," Davis remarked, "That same day, Kari also said she saw something different about me from the look in my eyes and only a few weeks ago she explained what she felt back then when she saw that look in my eyes."

Jun's eyes widened in shock on hearing that.

"So I wasn't the only one who saw it!" Jun replied with a surprised expression, "Even Kari saw it!"

"But no one else did," Davis stated, "Not even our mother or father saw it."

"How could that be possible?" Jun asked.

"It's because both you and Kari are the two closest females in my life and you're both able to see beyond the surface about me," Davis construed, "When I think about it, no one knows me better than the both of you."

Jun felt deeply touched by his words and planted a soft kiss on the side of his forehead.

"Thanks, I really appreciate that Davis," Jun replied affectionately, "Now c'mon. Let's hurry up and get ready to head out. Knowing Kari, she's downstairs right now waiting faithfully for you."

"Faithfully?" Davis repeated, "And where are you getting at with this?"

"Where I'm getting at Davis," Jun replied, "Is that you and I both know how deeply that girl likes you. Even when there's a heavy downpour of rain, Kari would be outside with her umbrella and raincoat waiting for you. Mom and dad have taken a major liking to Kari over the years and from what I've personally seen about the girl and the way she is around you, it's not hard to see why."

Davis thought about what Jun was saying and recalled what Veemon explained to him earlier. After a short moment of silence, Davis got up off the sofa and said, "I better go and get my stuff together. I wouldn't want to keep Kari waiting for me too long."

Davis hurried back to his room and took a brief moment to gather all of his school things and book bag. Coming out of his room, he went over to the front door and while putting his sneakers on, Davis said to Jun, "Thanks for everything you said Jun. Now go see how much of me you can find in Matt."

Jun blushed and was about to give him her retort but Davis took off and left the apartment before she was able to get a word out to him on that subject.

* * *

(Meanwhile)

Kari was waiting patiently for Davis in front of the main entrance of the apartment complex. While waiting for his arrival, she thought back to what happened three weeks ago when she confessed her feelings to Davis and listening to his own expressions about how he feels about her and Yolei as well. Though Kari wasn't happy about Davis admitting to liking Yolei also, she reminded herself that Davis was honest and truthful and didn't try to lie to her about his situation concerning both her and Yolei. She knew it wouldn't be fair or right to force Davis to choose between the both of them right there and then, regardless how she felt. While Davis did ask to be given two weeks before he makes a decision, an extra week went by with neither of them bringing the topic back up. Part of Kari wanted to, but in the end, she decided against it and to wait for Davis to make the next move.

And speaking of Davis, Kari looked up to see him making his way through the hallway and over to her. As he stepped out through the main entrance, Davis greeted, "Good morning Kari! I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long."

"No actually," Kari said, "It gave me time to think things over while waiting for you."

"You'll make a great kindergarten teacher," Davis complimented, "You have a patient, waiting attitude which is an important trait all teachers need."

Kari smile brightly and blushed as she recalled the night Davis revealed knowing her future dream career before she could relate it to him or anyone else, and the method he used to figure it out. Even now it still blew her away and every time she thought about it, it drove her to want to know about who Davis really is and how deep his intelligence went. Kari replied, sincerely "Thank you Davis."

"Don't mention it," Davis said, "C'mon, let's be on our way to school."

Before Kari could say anything, Davis reached out and took Kari by her left hand, embracing it with his right hand as he interlocked his fingers with hers. The dark blush on Kari's cheeks spread around her face as she felt her heart beating faster and harder. Davis took the initiative to connect with her through this form of touch and he did so publicly regardless of who was looking at them much to Kari's surprise. What she was feeling from his grip felt different from all the others times she held his hand in the past. She felt his spirit of protection, affection and assurance, qualities she always cherished and felt whenever Davis was around her. But not only that, this was the first time that Davis interlocked his fingers with hers, as if he was assuring her that his bond with her was secured.

The walk to school was quiet as both Davis and Kari silently enjoyed the feeling of holding each other's hands. For Kari, it was as though Davis was making a wordless declaration to everyone that passed them by about his bond with her and that to her made her feel serene and at ease. Looking at Kari, Davis decided to break the silence.

"Are you alright Kari?" Davis asked. Kari looked back at him and answered with a toothy smile, "I'm great!"

"I'm happy to hear that," Davis said, "For a moment, I thought you'd be shocked that I wanted to hold your hand like this as we walk to school together."

"I was shocked," Kari said, "But in a happy way. Sure, we held hands before when we were eight and nine years old. But that was during school trips when we were instructed by our teachers to do so in order to stay together. But when walking home or going to school together, we never once reached out to hold each other's hand while walking."

"Yet we still became the best and closest of friends, right?" Davis added.

"We did," Kari agreed.

"And that's not all," Davis went on, "As the bearer of the digi-egg of Friendship, I want our bond with each other to always grow stronger with each passing day Kari and that we stay faithful and loyal to each other. And as the bearer of digi-egg Courage, I'm boldly and publicly declaring my bond with you along with how I feel about you."

 _'Just say it already Davis!'_ Kari thought with excitement and anticipation, _'Say that you love me and want me to become your girlfrie-'_

"DAVIS!" a feminine voice called out to them. Davis and Kari stopped to see Jun running down the block to them.

 _'Jun?! Why did you have to show up and interrupt the moment!?'_ Kari mentally wailed as Jun finally caught up with them. When she did, she stopped to catch her breath.

"Hey Jun," Davis greeted and inquired, "What are you doing here? Did you want to walk with me to school again that much? I'm touched that you always want to stick with me."

"…You got jokes…," Jun remarked while catching her breath, "…You're lucky you're my favorite little brother."

"What are you talking about? I'm your only brother," Davis replied.

"That means you're the only brother I have to chase down and give your lunch to," Jun said as she handed him his lunch, "You forget this on top of the kitchen table."

"What!?" Davis asked in disbelief, "But how!?"

"Because you had Kari on your mind from what I'm seeing," Jun teased while she pointed out to the fact that they were still holding hands. When Davis saw this, he looked back at Jun and reminded, "Didn't you say that Matt reached out and held your hand before taking you backstage to introduce you to his band members?"

"Matt did that?" Kari asked with a look that show she wanted to hear more as she looked at Jun who now had a blush of her own on her face.

"He even allowed Jun here to use his personal guitar to show his band members how good she is at playing the guitar," Davis added.

"Wow! Really!?" Kari asked before turning to Jun and inquiring, "Are you and Matt an official couple now?"

"Nothing happened!" Jun replied with the heavy blush on her face, "At least not yet anyway."

"So you're looking to score a homerun with Matt, huh?" Kari asked.

"Listen I have to hurry back to school before I'm marked late!" Jun replied and hurried off from them to the direction her high school was before Kari had a chance to ask further questions. Davis turned to Kari and remarked, "You're bad, Kari."

"Have you ever overhead some of the things Tai and Matt talk about?" Kari asked.

"Don't need to," Davis replied, "I already know how boys think. I'm interested in how you think and what secret thoughts go through your mind late at night."

"Well, they're just that," Kari said, "They're secret."

"Right," Davis lightly chucked before he released Kari's hand and took the opportunity to place his lunch in his book bag.

"So, it's true that TK's brother likes your sister," Kari commented as she watched Davis placed his book bag back on his shoulders.

"They like each other," Davis clarified, "They have things in common and Matt has characteristics and traits that Jun finds endearing to her."

"Like what?" Kari asked curiously.

"You're going to have to ask Jun yourself and have her entertain you with one of her girl talks," Davis said.

"You're being stingy!" Kari snorted, "You have juicy inside information and won't share them with me!"

"We already shared many juicy inside information about ourselves to each other through that Jenga game you had me play with you a few weeks back if I recall," Davis reminded with a playful grin, "Perhaps we should hurry to school now and look for their storage facility if you get my drift, hmm?"

Kari then recalled how during their game of "Jenga," she revealed to Davis that she would hide with a boy in the school storage facility if they wanted to make out hotly and hopefully not get caught. Sighing, Kari asked, "…Are you seriously choosing now to tease me about that?"

"Whoever said I was teasing?" Davis boldly replied with a toothy grin, causing Kari to immediately look straight at him with a look that scream "Are you for real!" She wanted to say something to that effect, but she just kept stuttering with her words. Pleased with the desired effect he got out of Kari, Davis said, "C'mon let's start back on our why to school."

Reaching out and taking her hand again and interlocking his fingers with hers, Davis resumed his walk with Kari, whose thoughts were reeling from the last things Davis said to her with the implications they carried.

 _'Did he mean what I think he meant!?'_ Kari asked herself as she felt a little heat building up within her being, _'Does he really want to do that with me!?'_

* * *

(Elsewhere)

TK, Yolei and Cody were all running as fast as they could down the block to school.

"How did all three of us end up oversleeping on the same night!?" TK asked rhetorically.

"Stay up late practicing for Kendo class," Cody confessed as they continued running.

"I got caught up watching a long awaited new episode of one of my favorite soap operas," Yolei said, "It had such a captivating plot twist that I had to keep watching to see what was going to happen next!"

"You know I wasn't really expecting you guys to answer me so honestly," TK remarked.

"Really?" Yolei snorted, "So what happened with you that placed you in the same boat like us?"

"Basketball practice with the team!" TK admitted, "Davis confessed that he isn't as good in basketball as he is in soccer. Not to mention that Kari joined the cheerleading squad just a few weeks ago."

"You want to impress Kari with your basketball skills while she and the other cheerleaders cheer you and the rest of your teammates on," Cody deduced.

"From what I've seen of Kari," Yolei stated as they finally reached the open school gate and run through it, "You'll have to do more than that to impress and woo her."

"And that is?" TK inquired.

"Be yourself and prove to be an interesting person who can grab and hold her attention," Yolei said.

"I'm not trying to be somebody else," TK retorted.

"You're not going to impress and earn her romantic interest in you through athletics TK," Yolei advised, "I should know, because Kari and I have similar interests in guys."

"You mean guys like Daisuke Motomiya and his famous second place rival, Ken Ichijouji," TK stated clearly, earning a frown from Yolei with Cody sighing at the scene.

"Is there a problem here?" Davis asked as he and Kari approached the trio. TK, Yolei and Cody turned to see Davis and Kari walk over to them, but not hand-in-hand.

"Nothing's up," Cody said, "Just Yolei giving TK some well needed pointers and suggestions to better improve his chances."

"His chances?" Kari asked, "His chances at what?"

"Getting out of the friend zone," Yolei muttered under her breath, but clear enough for TK and the others to hear it.

"The friend zone you say?" Davis remarked, causing Yolei to stutter when she realized that she was caught with what she said, but Davis continued, "For any guy or girl, it's not an enjoyable place to be put in, that's for sure. But most of the time, it's the guy who gets friend zoned by the girl they want to be more than friends with."

"Alright bearer of Friendship," Yolei asked, "What helpful advice would offer to someone wanting to get out of the friend zone?"

 _'This reminds me of that day I finally decided to break off and end my friendship with Kari back in high school in my previous life because I got tired of being friend zoned, mocked and ridiculed by everyone,'_ Davis thought and answered straightforwardly, "My advice would be for that person not to invest time, effort or energy into someone who expresses no romantic interest in them and to move on to someone else who will."

"That sounds rather cold," Yolei remarked, but then stopped to think about how she had been spending time with Ken secretly despite her feelings for Davis.

"Trust me," Davis stated honestly, "It would be better if that person doesn't keep too high of hope and expectations of a relationship that will never happen if all that person get is friend zoned by their love interest. It'll only make things more awkward, frustrating and difficult for that individual if they continue pursuing someone who won't respond with interest to their romantic advances, especially if they spend too much time with that guy or girl whom they're attracted to. Not only will it lead to constant disappointments but ultimately heartbreak when they have to hear it from their love interest that he or she isn't interested in him or her in that way. I'll tell you this, when you girls tell us that that you only see us as a brother or as your twin, it's like kicking us in our dicks and crushing our balls."

"Davis! You don't have to be vulgar about it!" Kari chastised.

"I'm just saying it as it is," Davis replied.

"You sound like you talk from personal experience," Cody remarked after listening to Davis' insightful words.

 _'You have no idea,'_ Davis thought, but replied, "I talk from my father's experience because the same thing happened to him with one woman he was once deeply attracted to and had feelings for before he finally met, fell in love and married my mother."

"Who was this woman your father once had strong feelings for?" TK inquired.

"Her name is not important," Davis said and thought, _'It's crazy that it was TK's mother Natsuko Takaishi that my father was once crazy about in my previous life before Jun and I were born. But my father and Natsuko knew each other long before they started working for the same company.'_

"C'mon you guys we better head to class before our teacher mark us late," Kari advised. The group agreed unanimously and continued on their way into the building.

* * *

(Later That Day)

In the school gymnasium, Davis and TK were in their gym clothes while Kari was in her red and white cheerleader uniform and sneakers along with the other cheerleaders. They were practicing their new cheers and dance routine with their red and white pom poms while TK was practicing his basketball moves and shots with his team with Davis being on the opposing team. So far TK's team was in the lead by three points and the said blond was determined to stay in the lead and he did so by scoring another basket for his team, thus bringing his team to a five-point lead. Kari and her fellow cheerleaders soon decided to take a break and watch the game between the two opposing teams.

"Basketball was never my favorite sport," Davis remarked a frown, "How about a game of soccer or perhaps chess?"

"Don't be such a spoiled sport Davis!" TK replied confidently, "At least try to give me a good game while we're here playing against each other."

" _'Try'_ isn't in my vocabulary," Davis remarked before passing the ball to one of his teammates. His teammate caught the ball and dribbled it down the court. He made the attempt to score for his team but the ball bounced off the rim and down to the court floor. One of TK's teammates hurriedly rushed to the ball and managed to get to it first. He dribbled it down to their end of the court and just as he was about to pass it to TK so he could take the shot, Davis suddenly dashed in and stole the ball from TK's teammate. Davis made his way back to his side of the court, dribbling around TK's teammates as they tried to block and steal the ball back from him. Davis managed to maneuver himself around the opposing players and before he lost his chance, he took a shot and succeeded in scoring a three-pointer shot for his team, resulting in TK's team being in the lead by only two points.

"Nice shot Davis!" Kari cheered loudly and enthusiastically as she applauded his success in making the three-pointer as her fellow cheerleaders watched and cheered the players on. Davis smiled and gave Kari a right-handed thumbs-up, which didn't go unnoticed by TK. He found that things weren't going as planned as Kari was cheering for Davis despite the fact that Davis' team wasn't in the lead.

"That was an impressive shot Davis," TK commented, "But this game isn't over yet."

"No I suppose it isn't," Davis replied as he resumed the game with TK and their teams. After another twelve minutes went by, the game came to a tie with both teams having a score of 47. Both Davis and TK were breathing and sweating hard, as were their respective teammates.

"You surprised me Davis," TK commented, "You said that basket isn't your favorite sport."

"It isn't!" Davis confirmed and grinned as he added, "But you asked me to give you a good game, therefore I felt obliged to comply!"

What Davis never told TK or anyone else however was that secretly he's been practicing playing basketball by himself and with Veemon over the years. Whenever Davis played one-on-one games with Veemon in the Digital World though, Veemon had more advantages over Davis considering that he was Rookie Digimon with the strength and speed of an Ultimate. Therefore, Davis lost a number of games to his Digimon partner. But that only served to pushed Davis to improve and get better over the course of time.

"You got jokes!" TK remarked.

"No, I got game!" Davis countered as he dribbled and passed the ball to one of his teammates. The teammate had to maneuver him through the opposing team as he made an effort to get to the hoop. He was about to take the shot when one of TK's teammates tried to steal the ball from him. Avoiding the opposing player's actions, he passed the ball to his other teammate who was open for the shot. But as the ball came his way, TK appeared and stole the ball and dribbled it down the court and before he could be intercepted, TK took a shot for a two pointer. His team cheered, but there was still thirty seconds left on the clock.

Davis retrieved the ball and dribbled it down the court, only to be met with TK and his teammates posing as obstacles in his way. Davis now had less than twelve seconds and at the rate things were turning out he and his team were bound to lose the game.

 _'They're trying to hold me off long enough for the buzzer to go off,'_ Davis deduced, _'They're stalling for time that my team and I don't have!'_

Davis found an opening and immediately passed the ball to his one of his unguarded teammates to his front left. His teammate caught the ball and dribbled it down the court with only five seconds left on the clock. TK and his teammates rushed to Davis' teammate to stop him, but rather than taking the shot, he passed the ball back to Davis with only two seconds left on the clock. Knowing he wasn't going to make it to the hoop at the distance he was at and believing he and his team already lost the game to TK…

 _'Ah to hell with it! I have nothing else to lose! I already lost this game anyway!'_ Davis yelled in his head as he decided to take a gamble at a near impossible three-pointer shot with the bell going off just after he took the shot. Davis expected the ball to bounce off the front of the rim and hit the floor as he quietly accepted defeat. But much to his and everyone else's complete shock and disbelief, the ball soared through the air and collided with the back board where it then recoiled against the back of the inner rim before it fell down the hoop, giving his team the winning shot with the final score for his team being 50 to TK's team's score being 49. Davis' team cheered loudly in victory with Kari and the other cheerleaders applauding and cheering loudly at what looked to be an impossible three-pointer shot Davis managed to make.

 _'I can't believe it! I can't believe I actually succeeded in making that shot!'_ Davis thought as he was still shocked that his shot worked, _'I was sure it wasn't going to make it!'_

 _'I can't believe Davis beat me with style and in front of Kari no less!'_ TK thought as he watched Davis' teammate surround Davis and celebrate their victory with him while high-fiving and praising Davis. His plan to impress Kari with his basketball skills and game against Davis backfired. Davis then went over to TK and extended his right hand out to him.

"Good game TK," Davis said, "To the honest, I didn't expect to make that last shot. I was certain it was going to miss, giving you and your team the victory."

In a spirit of sportsmanship, TK extended his right hand and shook Davis' hand.

"To be fair," TK replied, "I did ask you to try to give me a good game. And in the end, I ended up paying for it. But don't think that means you'll win next time."

"Any time you're ready," Davis challenged with a confident smile. Kari and the other cheerleaders went over to TK and Davis.

"That was a close game you guys played out there," Kari said, "With the way you guys played against each other, I can only imagine how far our school's basketball team would go if you both were on the same team."

"Nyah!" Davis disagreed, "Basketball is TK's calling. I'll stick to my original passion with soccer, chess and violin. Thank you very much."

"Still Davis that was a cool game winning shot you took," one of the cheerleaders said, "I even recorded it on video."

"You what!?" Davis and TK replied at the same time as the cheerleader presented the captured video moment of the last fifteen seconds of the game that end with Davis making the game winning three-pointer shot against TK's team that was recorded on her mobile phone. And it was recorded from a perfect angle.

"Hey send me that video!" Kari requested as she watched the replay of Davis' winning shot.

"Sure thing, Kari," the cheerleader agreed before accessing the app on her phone to send the recorded video out to Kari's phone.

"This game wasn't that big a deal you know," Davis remarked with a chuckle, "It wasn't like it was a championship tournament against another school."

"No," Kari agreed, "But it was still fun to watch you both played against each other before you pulled off a miracle to win the game you almost lost Davis."

"Funny," Davis snorted.

"A miracle?" TK remarked with a raised eyebrow, "I'd say it was more like pure luck since Davis himself admitted that it was an absolute fluke."

"Be that as it may," Davis replied before grinning, "But in your case TK, you can _hope_ to win next time."

TK frowned deeply at Davis knowing he aimed that statement in a mocking way. Kari was about to say something when her eyes took a moment to study Davis' physique. Though she always knew how athletic and fit Davis was since they were small kids, she never really took notice of his physical appearance up until now. She started noticing how muscularly built and structured Davis' body was for someone who recently turned 13 years old, while TK and the other boys had the common appearances for boys their age. Even his shoulders, deltoids and back were nicely formed with decent amount of muscles.

 _'How was it that I never noticed how strongly built Davis is?'_ Kari wondered while she continued checking out his body and legs, _'Was I that blind and inattentive or did Davis modestly hid himself by always wearing long sleeved clothes and pants?'_

Kari looked to see how hard Davis was sweating as some of his sweat ran down his face, neck and arms. And as she looked at his arms covered in sweat that was running down from his shoulders to his fingers, she saw that they were nicely toned with a good amount of muscles on his biceps, triceps and forearms. His appearance was a confirmed fact that Davis always exercised and stayed in healthy shape.

As Kari continued to quietly study Davis' physique, she saw that even his chest stood out from within his jersey. She blushed lightly as she curiously contemplated, _'I wonder how Davis looks like under his shirt…what would it feel like if he held me within his strong arms up against his toned bare chest and abs, with his husky breath breathing down my neck,'_ Kari blushed further as she involuntarily smiled lustfully at Davis while he was talking to TK, _'I can only imagine what Davis' lips would feel and taste like as we passionately make ou-'_

"Kari what are you doing?" her fellow cheerleader asked after finding that Kari had spaced out on everyone. Snapping out of her hormone-induced fantasies and realizing she was caught, Kari, with a heavy dark blush on her face, turned to her friend and panicked, "Nothing! I wasn't staring or thinking about anything!"

 _'That's normally when someone is guilty of actually doing something they claimed they weren't doing,'_ her friend thought as she grinned mischievously at Kari and replied, "I said nothing about you staring or thinking about anything, Kari. You practically gave yourself away," her friend teased knowingly, "So, who were you thinking about?"

"Look, let's change the subject please!" Kari pleaded with the same blush still on her face and then pointed out, "Besides, it's just about that time for us to get ready to leave anyway."

Her friend knew it was Davis whom Kari was staring at and thinking about, but she decided not to embarrass Kari further. Kari and the other cheerleaders went to gather their things as Davis, TK and the other boys did likewise. As everyone was exiting the gym, Davis took a moment to admire Kari in her cheerleader uniform as she was walking behind her cheerleading team. As he was doing that, Veemon's words replayed in his mind:

 _"…the only things that are holding you back Davis are your doubts, your reluctance to be honest with yourself and your constant reminders of the Kari from your past life who played with your feelings and broke your heart. You're not being fair to this new Kari by comparing her to the one who hurt you."_

Davis continued walking from behind as the last person while watching Kari walk closer to the exit. While doing so, Veemon's words continued to cycle through his mind:

 _"This version of Kari loves you for you and is waiting for you Davis, just like how Sora was waiting for Tai to go after her. He'd have lost out to Matt like last time had he made the same mistakes that you're about to make if you don't wake up and admit to yourself that deep down you carry strong feelings for Kari!"_

Davis allowed Veemon's counsel to deeply sink in as it moved him to finally make up his mind with regards to his next actions that he was giving careful thought to. He waited till TK and everyone else left before reaching out and pulling Kari back and grabbing her attention.

"Kari?" Davis asked as she turned and looked at him.

"Yes Davis?" Kari asked curiously.

"Are you free this weekend?" Davis asked, "There's this new live sea world show taking place this weekend at the aquarium and I was hoping we could go see it together. Plus, that new movie you wanted to see is also coming out in theaters this same weekend and I was thinking I could take you out to watch it, my treat. What do you say?"

"Sure!" Kari happily accepted, "I'd love to go with you!"

"Great!" Davis replied with a smile of his own, "But we'll have to catch an early show at the theater if we're to see the aquarium show on time."

"That's not a problem," Kari assured with a bright smile, "What time should I be ready by?"

Davis and Kari discussed their plans as they resumed their way to the exit of the gymnasium.

* * *

(After The Day At School Was Over; In The Computer Room)

"You lost to Davis at your own game," Yolei remarked as she shook her head, "I warned you that trying to woo Kari through sports wouldn't work TK."

"Davis won by a sheer fluke at the last second, even he openly admitted it," TK replied and then sighed, "…I just wish there was something I could do to get Kari to notice and like me. Davis always seems to know the right things do when it comes to Kari."

"From what I observed about Davis," Cody remarked, "He hasn't done anything to rival you for Kari's affections TK. He's not even trying to win her over from anyone."

"Yet Kari still likes him," TK retorted dejectedly, "Not to mention she's always protective of him. Even after that barbaric ambush against us he called a 'test,' Kari remained just as protective of him when we all got mad at him after he revealed himself."

"You have to understand and accept the fact that Davis and Kari have known each other for the longest time and they grew up together TK," Cody reasoned, "They've known each other longer than they knew anyone of us, just like Tai and Sora from what I've heard."

"Sora and Tai are practically an official couple," TK said, "Not Davis and Kari."

"From what Sora told me," Yolei spoke up, "Both her and Tai have always been best friends for a long number of year, just like Davis and Kari. She told me that it was Tai who made the first move and went after her and that she was just waiting for him to do so. They've been inseparable since and continue doing everything together from what she told me."

"And where does that leave you Yolei?" TK asked.

"What do you mean?" Yolei asked, not liking where the question was heading.

"It's no secret that both you and Kari are rivals for Davis' love and affections," TK said before the temperature in the room dropped several notches with Yolei giving TK a cold glare.

"We're not talking about me here TK!" Yolei retorted.

"You're affected by this as much as I am Yolei," TK pointed out, and then questioned, "If Kari and Davis actually hit it off, would you honestly be OK with that?"

Yolei was about to reply but then stopped dead in her tracks when separate memories of her time with Davis and Ken appeared in her mind. She was silent as she tried to rationalize through what was going through her head. She was conflicted between her budding attraction to Ken and her still remaining feelings for Davis.

"I don't know," Yolei confessed, "All I can say is that things would become rather awkward between all of us for a while since we're all part of the same team."

"Have you ever considered telling Davis how you feel?" TK asked.

"Have you ever told Kari how you feel?" Yolei shot back.

"Enough! Both of you!" Cody interjected having seen and heard enough, "Neither of you are acting mature about this!"

"I'm not the one trying to make an issue out of anything Cody," Yolei retorted, "But TK here, despite briefly getting on my nerves, is looking for advice in hopes of growing wings to fly out and escape the legendary prison known as the friend zone."

"Didn't Davis already give his explanation about that and how to move pass that?" Cody asked and then enlightened, "Davis wasn't pretending to be concerned with TK's romantic wounds. But in an indirect way, Davis through his explanation was advising TK to move on from his feelings for Kari and to find another girl to invest his time, attention and interest in."

"How did you even come to that conclusion!?" TK asked indignantly.

"Davis isn't a child prodigy for nothing and he's aware of your attraction to Kari and I'm sure Kari is aware that you like her," Cody pointed out, "And if she knows this, then more than likely she told Davis about it since he's her best and closest friend. Davis doesn't want to see you hurt TK, which was why he gave us that explanation about the friend zone. And I'm sure he was aiming his same words at you as well Yolei, just indirectly."

"What are you talking about?" Yolei replied, "My love life wasn't the topic that was up for discussion when Davis arrived."

"No, it wasn't," Cody agreed, but then further elaborated, "But the principles behind his words included your situation in connection with your feelings for Davis. Davis was trying to be realistic with all of us without being cold-hearted about it. And he made it clear that it was his father he was given advice from in regards to relationships and friendships with the opposite gender.

"Davis knows you like him Yolei, as does everyone really. But Davis hasn't responded once to your romantic interest in him, and after listening to how he explained the topic regarding the friend zone, I think it would be best if you spend some time away from Davis and re-evaluate your feelings and reasons for liking him, Yolei."

"What you and TK should ask yourselves is what do you both want most out of a partner," Cody suggested, "And by "partner" I mean a someone who's actually meaningful and worth your time."

It often unnerved Yolei how grown and mature for his age Cody often behaved and spoke. Ever since his father's early demise as a cop, Cody was forced to grow and mature faster for his age, much like how Davis grew and matured very early for his age in her opinion.

Yolei wanted to retort with a comeback after listening to Cody' words of advice, but nothing came to mind to refute Cody's words to them.

 _'Sometimes I think Cody spends too much time around his grandfather,'_ Yolei thought.

* * *

(Later That Evening; At The Motomiya Residence)

"So finally, you took your own advice to Tai: you grew a pair of balls and finally asked Kari out," DemiVeemon remarked with a smile before being whacked hard by Davis with his pillow.

"Refrain from using my own words against me," Davis replied with an annoyed frown on his face.

"Well both you and Tai are alike despite the mental maturity differences," DemiVeemon said while rubbing his head, "You both have childhood female friends who love you and you both needed someone to give you prep talks and the needed encouragement to open your eyes and see what was in front of you all along. And in our previous lives, both you and Tai, myself included, lost our chances to be with the females we loved and wanted as our mates."

"Still DemiVeemon," Davis confessed, "Part of me can't help but feel a little awkward. I'm about to date a junior high school girl instead of a woman."

"How do you think I feel?" DemiVeemon replied, "There's a reason why I'm known as an ancient pure dragon Digimon. I may not look it but I'm the oldest Digimon of both teams and I'm thousands of years older than Gatomon."

"Do you mean that in DigiWorld or Real World time?" Davis remarked.

"Does it really matter?" DemiVeemon snorted, "The point is that regardless of the fact that we're older than our love interests, we shouldn't think about the massive age difference," DemiVeemon suggested, "Rather, we should think of ourselves as priceless refined aged wine. As an expert restaurant business titan, you understand how invaluable very aged wine is and the great lengths people go through to attain it. The older the wine, the higher its value and cost. Both Kari and Gatomon see, love and appreciate our invaluable attributes not as old guys but as priceless aged wine they want to taste and treasure all by themselves."

"Do you write and recite metaphoric poetry to Gatomon too?" Davis asked with a toothy smile, "Your effective use of illustrations is remarkably on point. I'll work on thinking of myself in that light as challenging as it may be."

"You'll come to understand where I'm coming from Davis," DemiVeemon commented, "You'll see. You are a genius after all."

"I'm a genius who's being schooled by my own Digimon," Davis said.

"Just think of me as your wingmon," DemiVeemon joked.

"Aren't you funny," Davis replied.

"I'm sure Kari is just as nervous and excited as you are Davis," DemiVeemon commented, "This is her first date with the Golden Child of Miracles after all."

"Juicing me up again?" Davis replied, "There's no need for such flattery DemiVeemon. Besides, knowing Kari, I'm pretty sure she's going about this far better than I am."

* * *

(At The Kamiya Residence)

"There must be something I can wear!" Kari exclaimed in frustration. She was currently in her room with Gatomon sitting on her bed. The feline Digimon was quietly watching her human partner search through her closet from clothes to clothes as she was trying to decide which combination of clothes to wear for her first date with Davis in the upcoming weekend.

"Kari, this is Davis we're talking about, the guy you knew and love almost your whole life," Gatomon said, "I'm sure if you walked out wearing just your pajamas and slippers Davis would still find you just as stunning."

"Ha ha, aren't you funny," Kari snorted dryly before having a dreamily smile and look on her eyes and face, "For your information Gatomon, it's my official first date with Davis and he was the one who asked me out. I have to look perfect for him, not wretched!"

And with that Kari went back into the closet looking for which set clothes and shoes would look good together on her.

"I fail to understand you humans sometimes," Gatomon remarked as laid her head down to take a nap, "I can look like a mess and Veemon would still find me attractive."

Kari turned to look at her feline Digimon partner and found that she decided to nap away on her bed.

 _"That lazy smart mouth cat,"_ Kari frowned before she turned away and looked at her full-length mirror. With a skirt and blouse in her hands, she moved them over in front of her body to see how they would look like together. She snorted when she judged that they weren't a good match after seeing them together from the mirror's reflection.

"Gatomon," Kari said while continuing to look at herself in the mirror, "Help me pick out some nice clothes and footwear and in return I'll feed you half of my shrimps and salmon filet dinner my mom is cooking for me."

The DigiDestined of Light only saw a white and yellow blur from the reflection of the mirror dash behind her, causing her to turn to see Gatomon in the closet looking through her clothes with analytical eyes.

"This definitely won't do," Gatomon remarked as searching for something her partner could wear for her coming date, "We have our work cut out for us before the night is out Kari."

 _'Bribe her with fish and she'll battle an army in your name,'_ Kari thought after seeing how fast Gatomon responded to her offer.

* * *

(The Following Day; In The Late Afternoon)

Davis was sitting in the kitchen alone with his father. Jun and her mother had stepped out together to do some shopping, leaving Davis free to speak with his father while seeking some advice when it comes to girls and dating.

"So you've finally taken an interest in that Kamiya girl!" Mr. Motomiya praised, "Don't tell Kari that I said this, but your mother and I were wondering when you would want to hook up with such a nice and caring girl like her. I spoke with Kari on a number of occasions and as I got to know her, it was very clear that she's completely smitten by you. But then again, what girl wouldn't want to date my genius boy!?"

"While I'm flattered at how proud you are of that," Davis said, "I was wondering if you can offer me some advice since I never took a woman out on a date before."

"A woman!?" Mr. Motomiya asked as he looked at Davis comically, "I know Kari is attractive in your eyes my boy but I don't think for her age we can classify her as a woman yet!"

 _"Damn! I slipped again!"_ Davis mentally groaned as he realized his blunder in his choice of words. Davis cleared his throat and said, "C'mon father, you know what I meant. Just think of me as a man talking about a woman he's interested in. I'm just worried about doing things right and not make a bad impression."

"You really are growing up fast my son," Mr. Motomiya commented, "But it's endearing to know that despite how smart you've became over the years, you're still coming to me for fatherly advice and counsel. And with that said here's my advice: Instead of worrying about what other people think of you, focus instead on what they're experiencing. Ask her things about herself without getting too personal."

 _"It's a little too late for that piece of advice father,"_ Davis thought, _"After playing that Jenga game Kari introduced me to, it was more than clear she wanted to ask things about me while getting too personal."_

"When she's talking to you," Mr. Motomiya continued, "Give Kari the gift of your attention—listen as she tells you about what's going on in her life; let her vent about irritating classmates and selfish relatives. People love being listened to, and one of the best ways to convince her and others that you're full of depth and wisdom—and a great conversationalist—is to simply hear them out."

"Surprisingly father," Davis said, "I do many of those things you've suggested and I've been practicing to become a better listener and conversationalist too."

"Then you're off to a good start Daisuke," Mr. Motomiya replied, "The point to keep in mind is to shift your attention away from yourself and onto others. This does three things: First, it gives you something to think about other than yourself. Secondly, it makes you more aware that the people around you—no matter how they may seem to appear on the surface—have their own frailties and fears. Finally, these small gestures of caring and compassion will give you some of the connections you're seeking. Usually, you will find that the recipient expresses gratitude—a thank you, a smile, things of that nature. But even when they don't, being the person who notices that somebody needs a chair or a hand with those packages will help you see yourself in a new light. Developing self-respect is actually quite simple: Behave in a way that you respect."

"That's some sage advice father," Davis commented.

"Thanks," Mr. Motomiya said gratefully, "When you do go on your date with Kari, instead of worrying about what she thinks of you, try to think about what she's feeling at that moment. She has left her home to meet you, her best friend, for something new you both have never done before. Keep in mind that she might feel a little nervous. She might be worried that she won't come off as likable or attractive, that she'll be rejected. Think about what you can you do to put her at ease."

"Reading a girl's emotion can be tricky sometimes," Davis remarked.

"Again," Mr. Motomiya reminded, "Just ask her about her day, and listen to what she has to say. Pay attention to small details. Does she have a good place to hang her coat? Is she comfortable where she's sitting, or is the kitchen door banging behind her? The point is not to obsess over this stuff or make a big deal out of any of it. The idea is to simply place your attention on her experience, rather than your own, and to show her that you're a kind, considerate person who is interested in what she has to say. And if she starts asking questions about you and wants learn more about you, be honest without being blunt. Open yourself gradually in a respectful and dignified manner."

"Was it this easy when you were courting mom?" Davis asked. Mr. Motomiya scratched the back of his head and laughed nervously, "I learned a lot of hard and sad lessons when it came to women before I met and married your mom."

"I'd love to hear about them father," Davis said, "Maybe I might have some good laughs and see how I can avoid some of the mistakes you made."

"Interested in your old man's story in his search for love, huh?" Mr. Motomiya said, "I'd give you a beer to drink with me if you were of age but a can of soda will have to do."

 _'If you only knew my true age,'_ Davis thought to himself before he and his father continued having their conversation together.

* * *

(Two Days Later)

Davis was stepping out of his bedroom dressed in black pants and socks, a beige sweater with a white turtleneck shirt underneath it and a black leather vest to match the pants. He chose to forego wearing the goggles and to neatly fix and comb his maroon hair before using some of his father expensive cologne. With his choice of clothes on and wallet and keys in hand, Davis made his way to the door to put on his black shoes.

 _'Come to think of it,'_ Davis realized, _'This is my actual first date as I never went on any dates in my previous life.'_

After he placed his shoes on and opened the door…

"Where are you going while looking so nice and suave?" Jun asked as she suddenly appeared out of her room to see Davis leaving the apartment.

"I'm heading out to meet up with Kari," Davis answered.

"For a hangout?" Jun inquired.

"No, it's a date," Davis clarified.

"A date!?" Jun asked excitedly, "And you didn't tell me about this?!"

"I didn't want to make a big production out of it," Davis replied, "And-"

Davis didn't get to finish when Jun was suddenly upon him in a tight embrace.

"You finally made your choice in who you want as your girlfriend!" Jun said excitedly, "You gotta tell me how things went when you get back. And if you and Kari decide to go all the way, remember to always use protection!"

"JUN! SERIOUSLY?!" Davis shouted with a blush on his face after seeing how shameless his older sister was being in teasing and embarrassing him. Jun laughed seeing how she got the desired reaction out of him.

"I'm only kidding Davis!" Jun said, "But seriously, make sure Kari has a very good time and remember to always be yourself and a gentleman."

"I've been around Kari long enough to know how I should and shouldn't act or talk, Jun," Davis said, "I'm not going to do anything stupid."

"I'm glad to hear that," Jun said as she released Davis from her embrace, "But make sure you have a nice and enjoyable time with Kari too."

"I will Jun," Davis said, "Now, I must be on my way. I wouldn't want to make a bad first impression by being late to pick her up."

"Bring her back in one piece and before curfew," Jun further teased as she watched Davis leave through the front door.

"Whatever Jun," Davis replied before closing the door.

* * *

(Twenty-Five Minutes Later; At The Kamiya Residence)

Kari was looking at herself in the mirror while making sure everything on her was perfect. She had on a light beige baby doll with a plunging neckline and her favorite black skirt. She had a matching purse hanging over her left shoulder that went with her baby doll dress with light pink lip gloss coated over her lips. Her choice of footwear was black low heel laced-up sandals that were placed at the front door. Her hair was neatly brushed and combed just right.

Tai walked into the room to see his younger sister doing the final check on her appearance.

"I still think you're growing and maturing way too fast Kari," Tai remarked with his arms crossed over his chest, "Whatever happened to that sweet, innocent eight-year-old girl who used to always depend on her big brother to always be there for her?"

"She grew up like you said Tai," Kari shot back confidently, "And moved on and found a man in her life to always depend on and count on."

Tai snorted and remarked, "You're still 12 years old Kari and Davis is only a thirteen-year-old boy."

"I'm more than twelve and half FYI!" Kari retorted, "And while Davis may be thirteen years old," Kari smiled dreamily and blushed, "He has a built manly physique that shows that he is no boy!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Tai asked while looking at his sister suspiciously. Before he could interrogate his sister further, there came a knock on the front door.

"He's here!" Kari shouted excited before hurrying out of the room passed Tai and straight to the front door. She looked through the peephole to find that it was indeed Davis outside the door carrying what was clearly a bouquet of flowers. Kari hurriedly opened the door to let Davis inside. Upon having the door opened for him, Davis took a moment to study Kari's appearance while Kari took a moment to exam Davis' appearance.

"Hikari Kamiya," Davis greeted with a smile as he offered Kari the bouquet of flowers, "As always, you're a splendid sight for my undeserving eyes to behold. These flowers don't compare to your natural beauty, a truth that must boldly be told."

"Oh Daisuke!" Kari giggled and blushed brightly from listening to Davis' poetic compliments of her, _'I could just kiss Davis right here and now!'_ Kari thought, _'I just wish my brother wasn't around though!'_

Tai was watching and listening from inside the apartment in the background.

"I have to admit," Tai said, "Davis has style to come up with that on a fly."

Kari accepted the flowers and inhaled their fragrance.

"They're lovely Davis!" Kari said appreciatively, "But they look expensive."

"Only the best for you, my lady," Davis said, causing Kari's heart beat hard and fast.

 _"He called me 'his lady',"_ Kari thought with a measure of excitement.

 _"Davis is really taking this serious,"_ Tai thought while watching the pair from a distance, _"Then again, he was the one who talk some sense into me and pushed me to go after Sora. I might have lost my chance with Sora had it not been for Davis. I owe him and so much more."_

"You look very handsome too Davis," Kari complimented, "But I see that we're a matching set since we're wearing the same colors."

"Like minds think alike as the old saying goes, right?" Davis replied, "But we better hurry if we're to catch the movie."

"OK," Kari agreed, "Let me put these flowers down in my room first."

Kari turned and ran back to her room and placed the bouquet down on her desk. While she did that, Tai went and approached Davis.

"Hey Davis," Tai greeted, "My sister has been looking forward to this for a long time, so make sure she enjoys her time with you."

"I will," Davis assured, but asked, "But you're not going to give me the whole overprotective big brother speech, are you?"

"Don't mock me," Tai replied, "I know you enough to know the kind of person you are and you would risk your life to protect Kari without question. I've seen that for myself. I trust you completely with her. Just you take care of her while she's with you like you always do."

Kari was watching and listening from within her room. She honestly was expecting Tai to behave overprotective of her despite knowing Davis for a long time. She was happy to see how Tai behaved more mature than she gave him credit for.

"But if Kari comes back pregnant with your baby Davis, you're dead meat!" Tai threatened, causing Kari to groan in utter annoyance as her moment of admiration of Tai's maturity was completely shot down from his one act of immaturity.

 _'How very mature Tai!'_ Kari mentally wailed in sarcasm.

"Funny you should say that Tai," Davis remarked with a grin, "Because before coming here, Jun gave me her own words of advice about the use of protection which served to annoy me. But should what you say happen, I'll make sure that my child with Kari is raised in a house of love."

"What was that!?" Tai asked menacingly while Davis laughed after seeing Tai's reaction.

"That's enough you two!" Kari interjected as she hurried back to the front door and placed her laced-up sandals on and tied them on.

"I'm ready to go!" Kari declared as she stepped out of the apartment with Davis, "I'll be home later, Tai. Bye!"

Davis took Kari by her right hand and interlocked his fingers with hers as they walked down the hallway together. Despite whatever Tai thought, he was honestly happy that Davis and Kari finally decided become more than friends. Tai closed and locked the door behind him as he was about to call Sora and talk to her about his sister dating Davis. But just before he could do that, the house phone rang.

"Who could be calling at this time?" Tai asked aloud as he went and answered the phone, "Hello, Kamiya residence…Hey TK, what's up?…No Kari's not here, she stepped out…You tried calling her phone and she didn't pick up?…Maybe she's in an area with bad receptions, I wouldn't worry about it too much…When she gets back, I'll tell her you called and wanted to talk with her…Alright, bye."

Tai hung up the phone. It was clear to Tai that Kari refused to answer her phone because she wanted her date with Davis to go uninterrupted. So as the big brother looking out for Kari, he covered for her so TK wouldn't start asking questions he didn't want to answer. And now with that taken care of, Tai went to get his mobile phone so he could chat with Sora.

* * *

(Fifteen Minutes Later)

Davis and Kari got off the Tokyo Metro station and started making their way to the movie theaters located inside one of the large shop mall centers. Even though Davis wasn't big on romantic chick flicks, it was something Kari wanted to see, so he decided to treat her out to it. The pair went on talking and walking hand-in-hand together with Davis cracking occasional jokes which gave Kari something laugh and smile for. Before long, they arrived at the movie complex and Davis bought the tickets for the movie. When they got to where the movie would be shown, Davis was surprised to see how many people turned up for it.

"I didn't expect for this movie to have so many people eager to watch it," Davis commented.

"This movie got a lot of a positive reviews and it's based on a best-selling romance suspense novel written by one of Japan's most renowned novelists," Kari enlightened.

"Is that right?" Davis said and thought, _'I hope this movie doesn't put me to sleep,'_ Davis then said, "Well hopefully the movie adaptation will do the original story some justice."

Kari nodded as they took their seats and sat down together. Soon, after all of the previews for the upcoming movies were shown, their movie of choice finally started showing. As Kari was enjoying the movie, Davis for his part couldn't help but be attentive to the entire plot of the movie. He saw so much of his past life in the lead protagonist's story that it startled him. As the movie progressed, Davis saw how the main female character changed and matured so much from the person she once was and apologized for all of her mistakes and wrongdoings. Davis saw how the main male protagonist also grew and matured and sincerely forgave his dearest female friend, the main female character, for hurting him when she used to play with his feelings and heart while never taking how he felt her her serious.

That caused Davis to start thinking about himself and his own life. He looked down at Kari and found that she was resting her head on his right shoulder as they watched the movie together. When he thought about the lead male protagonist's experiences in the movie and how he forgave the repentant girl who hurt him by her past actions, Davis realized why it was so hard to see himself with Kari:

He never forgave the Kari from his past. He never let go of his hurt and his anger at her. Throughout the years in his previous life, he kept reminding himself of how she wronged him, and he ignored Ken when he tried to hint at Kari's change of character and maturity and how she wanted to see him again as there was so much she wanted to say to him. He remembered when Ken last spoke with him and encouraged him to reconcile with Kari. Though he verbally agreed however, Davis' heart wasn't in it. Davis came to realize how he had been hurting himself all this time by holding on to grudges for past mistakes instead of learning to sincerely forgive and accepting one's true apology.

 _'Hikari Kamiya…,'_ Davis said in his heart, _'I forgive you. And I'm sorry for taking this long to let go of the hurt and the past. It just comes to show that I still have a lot of maturing, healing and growing up to do.'_

As Davis returned his gaze to the screen, a few tears ran down his face. It was as though a heavy load was lifted from off him and that he was finally set free from his past. Soon, Kari looked at Davis and found him crying silently.

"Are you OK Davis?" Kari asked very lowly with a concerned tone, "You're crying."

Realizing this, Davis took a napkin and quickly wiped his eyes and face.

"I'm sorry. It's just that the story between that guy and the girl surprisingly moved me," Davis admitted, "I didn't expect to be affected this much honestly."

Kari thought it was charming and sweet that Davis wasn't afraid to show and express his emotions while some guys had the idea that doing so would make them look weak. She always thought that was stupid and believed that expressing one's emotions didn't make anyone look weak; it showed that they were human with a heart and conscience.

As the movie progressed to the end, the lead male protagonist and the main female character fell in love and got married. After all the rolling credits for the movie were shown which featured scenes of the two characters' marriage and wedding reception, the epilogue showed them living together in a new house with a son and daughter heading off to school with their friends.

Everyone found that it truly was a very good movie with an enjoyable happy ending and moral. Davis and Kari left the movie complex with his right arm around her.

"I told you that you would enjoy the movie," Kari rubbed in, "It even got you cry."

"Just promise that you won't tell the others about that," Davis requested, "Tai and Jun would never let me hear the end of it."

"They don't have to know," Kari said, "It'll be just a private personal memory between the two of us."

"Thanks," Davis said appreciatively, "C'mon, let's grab a bite to eat and drink. We still have time before heading to aquarium."

Kari agreed and went to a café dinner. While eating and drinking there, they discussed what they enjoyed about the movie and what their favorite scenes were.

"I would like to know something Davis," Kari beseeched.

"And that is?" Davis inquired.

"Why were you so moved by what was happening between the two main characters?" Kari asked, "If anything, I was expecting to be the one shedding tears. I was truly surprised how it touched you."

Davis thought for a moment in how he could answer that question. After briefly contemplating on the question, Davis answered, "I put myself in the main protagonist's shoes while visualizing you as the main female character. In doing so, I was moved to sympathize deeply for the guy as it made me feel like I could empathize with the guy while wondering what would happened if the same thing happened between us Kari. I started feeling that guy's pain and sorrows as though they were my own before the girl realized how badly she hurt him with her foolish and senseless actions."

"Oh Davis," Kari said softly as she felt touched by Davis' words, _"I never knew that Davis could be so deep yet gentle and sensitive about such things."_

"But then I saw how that girl, after realizing her sins against the guy and how she broke his heart, worked hard to change herself and make things right again between herself and her best friend. And in time, he forgave her and their bond became stronger than before. Through this they fell in love, got married and started a family."

"You put yourself and me in their shoes and saw yourself there as if it was your life story you were watching," Kari construed.

"A life story with a happy ending if you ask me," Davis remarked optimistically, "That's what I saw."

"I'm amazed that the movie made such an impression on you," Kari commented as a smile formed on her face, "Perhaps we ought to watch more movies like that together in the future if they can bring out that side of you."

"Frankly, I'd prefer to watch movies that are more action-adventurous," Davis replied, "Too much romance-suspense type movies would give the others the impression that I'm going soft. I have to maintain my image as a fearless leader, one who's strong and daring."

"You're such a silly guy Davis," Kari laughed while enjoying Davis' good humor. After spending another twenty-five minutes at the café, Davis paid for the brunch and left with Kari for their next destination, the aquarium. It was quite a distance even though they used the express train but that just gave them on time to talk and enjoy each other's time together.

After a while, they arrived at the station they were supposed to depart from and made their way the aquarium. Because they were school students, Davis and Kari were given a student discount; therefore it allowed Davis to pay less for his and Kari's tickets. Going through the aquarium, they and all the other visitors got to see various life forms that live in the oceans and seas. Though the animals weren't Digimon, they were still a sight to behold.

After walking around for twenty minutes, they went to where the live sea world show featuring two performing orcas was being hosted. Davis got himself and Kari an up and close seating, wanting better view of the orcas. The show commenced, featuring the orcas and their trainers performing tricks and other amazing stunts either separately or together.

Towards the end of the show however, the two orcas performed double team somersault high out of the water and landed down with a large splashdown that towered over the tank they were in. And as a result of Davis wanting an up-close front view of the theatrics…

"Oh No!" Davis and Kari shouted at the same time as the whales' last stunt led to both him and Kari being heavily splashed by the water, almost fully soaking them. That led to them being laughed at by the crowd of surrounding children and parents who were watching and enjoying the show also. Davis and Kari couldn't believe what happened.

"My clothes! My hair!" Kari wailed as she looked and thought she was now a complete mess. And to top it off, the whole thing was caught on camera. The staff arrived and gave the pair towels to dry themselves off. They apologized for what happened though Davis assured them that no harm was actually done, though in good humor, one of the staff members arrived and gave Davis and Kari pictures of the unexpected incident as souvenirs to remember the occasion along with a foot and half long orca plushy that Davis gave to Kari as a present.

Later, after leaving the aquarium, Davis apologized, "I'm sorry Kari. I didn't expect for that to happen. That wasn't how I wanted our time at the aquarium to turn out and end. I wanted to make our first date together a memorable one and-"

Kari cut Davis off by hugging him affectionately. She rested her head on his left shoulder with a genuine smile as she assured him, "I did enjoy my time with you and I appreciated the length you went in trying to make my day as great as possible Davis. You did nothing wrong, so please don't feel you need to apologize for anything," Kari looked up at him and smiled, "Plus, we got free souvenirs from the incident, so I say it was worth it!"

"I guess it was!" Davis chuckled before hugging Kari affectionately. While in his embrace, Kari thought back to when she fantasized about what it would be like to be held within Davis' strong arms up against his chest, and while he wasn't bare chested as she originally daydreamed about, it was satisfying enough as she got an idea of what his body felt like. The pair spent the next part of the day talking and walking around hand-in-hand as they allowed the cool breeze and sun to dry them off.

Towards the evening hours as the skies were darkening into the night with the full moon making its rise to the skies, they returned to Odaiba and Davis escorted Kari back home. He stood in front of her apartment door with her as she held the orca plushy and pictures in her hand.

"I had a wonderful time Davis," Kari said gratefully, "I wonder where you'll take me next time."

"We'll have to wait and see," Davis said, "Till then Kari, have sweet dreams of me."

"Only if you'll have pleasant dreams of me Davis," Kari replied with a flirting tone, "So, same time tomorrow morning?"

"A second date while on the way to school?" Davis replied while pretending to contemplate on it, "Hmm, sounds like fun. Don't forget my flowers and chocolates, I'm man who wants to be romanced and spoiled and swept off his feet."

"You're a clown Davis," Kari said with a flirty smile before she moved forward and kissed him on his cheek, "But you're my favorite clown."

"I can be your favorite for a lot of things if you want. Just test me out," Davis intentionally said in teasing suggestive manner, causing the young female to squeal and giggle. Kari was about reply when…

"It's nice that Davis brought you back safe and sound Kari," Tai said from down the hallway. Davis and Kari turned to see Tai approaching them from down the hallway.

"Tai! Where are you coming from?" Kari asked.

"I'm just coming back from hanging with Sora at the tennis court just now," Tai revealed, "We also had a date of our own. And I see Davis bought you a gift too Kari."

"There's a funny story to how that happened," Davis said.

"I'd love to hear it," Tai said.

"Maybe later," Kari said, "But can I have one private moment with Davis alone Tai?"

"Fine by me," Tai shrugged as he got his keys out and went over to unlock and opened the door to allow himself inside. Once inside Tai, closed the door behind him, leaving his sister and Davis alone again.

"I truly enjoyed my time with you Kari," Davis said and continued, "And next time," he leaned down and kissed her on her right cheek, "Our date will be even better. Goodnight and have sweet dreams of me!"

Kari felt her cheek heat up after feeling where Davis kissed her. It wasn't on the lips as she wanted but she was willing to accept what she could get as it only brought her closer to her fulfilling her dreams in having her first kiss with Davis.

"Goodnight Davis and get home safely," Kari said as she smiled and entered her apartment. She gave Davis one last joyful glance before waving him goodbye and closing the door.

"So let's hear it Kari," Tai said with a grin pasted on his face, "What was this funny story behind how Davis got you that orca plushy doll? Did you offer him a kiss if he won you that?"

"…I did no such thing Tai," Kari remarked with sighed, "If anything, Davis was a complete and perfect gentleman through and through. I got to see a side of him I never saw before which I found very touching and moving."

"Sora said the same thing of me after our second date," Tai mentioned, "That time I really made a very good impression on her."

"It makes me wonder what kind of impression she made on you since it goes both ways," Kari remarked, "Anyway, it's been a long and exciting day and I'm in need of a shower before turning in for the evening."

Kari made her way to her room before Tai could question her further. As Tai stood there, he couldn't help but wonder if he was forgetting to tell Kari something. Soon, he shrugged it off and figured it was of no real importance as he decided to watch some TV.

* * *

(Later At The Inoue Residence)

Yolei was in her room with Poromon resting on her bed. She was brushing her hair while looking at the mirror sitting on top of the drawer in front of her. As she was doing that, she thought about Davis' and Cody's earlier words to them. While doing do so, she thought about her own conflicting feelings between Davis and the ones that were developing for Ken.

"Now I really felt like I'm living out one of my soap opera shows," Yolei remarked to herself as she set her brush down on the drawer. No sooner than she did that, her phone chimed, indicating that she received a message from someone. She went over to her phone to see who sent her a message and find out what the message said.

 _'It's from Ken,'_ Yolei mentally acknowledged as she read the message:

 _"My royal-haired maiden, in the next coming weekend they're filming an episode to one of your favorite soap opera shows in my home town in Tamachi and I won a raffle contest that got me two tickets to meet the cast and crew live. I was wondering if you'd like to accompany me."_

Yolei smiled and squealed excitedly as she immediately replied through her text message:

 _'Yes! I'd love to come along Ken!' (^_^)_

A moment later came Ken's reply:

 _'Great! I'll meet up with you this weekend in Tamachi. Dress nice for the occasion. Goodnight my royal haired maiden.' (-_^)_

 _'Goodnight Ken.'_

Yolei put her phone down on the drawer and squealed happily and excitedly that she was going to meet the cast of one of her favorite soap opera shows. She couldn't believe how Ken was able to pull it off and he chose to invite her of all people. She was so excited about the upcoming weekend that she forgot about Davis.

"And what are you so happy about?" Poromon asked curiously, "Is it about Ken again?"

"Funny you should mention him," Yolei said, "Ken won two tickets to meet the cast of one of my favorite shows and he invited me to join him next weekend to meet them in Tamachi!"

"You've been spending a lot of time with Ken lately and you've accepted a number of his invitations to hang out and do things with him, even now," Poromon pointed out, "I'm starting to believe that you're secretly dating Davis' self-proclaimed rival."

"Don't be silly," Yolei quickly said, "We're just hanging out together as friends, that's all."

"Is that what Ken believes or is that what you're trying to convince yourself is the case Yolei?" Poromon inquired. Yolei was about to reply but stopped herself dead in her tracks to think about what Poromon said.

"You and I both know that Ken really likes you," Poromon said, "That's why he's trying so hard to appeal to you and making the effort to get to know you. The fact that he went and won those tickets to meet the cast of one of your favorite drama shows and invited you to join him for that occasion is a clear indication that he won those tickets for you just to make you happy."

"Ken took an interest in what I like to watch," Yolei acknowledged, "It's rather romantic that he went that far for me, but-"

"Be honest with yourself Yolei and just admit that you're starting to like Ken," Poromon interjected, "I've watched and paid attention to how excited you get when Ken talks and gives you the kind of attention and treatment you wished you got from Davis."

When Yolei heard this, she carefully considered everything she had been doing with Ken for the past number of days and how she had been enjoying spending time and being around him.

"I really did like Davis, Poromon," Yolei confessed, "I really did. I had some measures of hope that in time I would win his heart, but Kari always stood and got in my way."

"She rivaled you for Davis' affections," Poromon deduced.

"She did," Yolei said, "But I can't put this entirely on Kari as I have to accept the truth: No matter how hard I tried, Davis never gave me the time and affections I wanted to have from him and Kari always made sure to stick close to Davis."

"At least Davis didn't try to lead you on or play with your feelings," Poromon said, "He didn't feed you false hopes or false expectations about anything like some jerks would."

"No, he didn't," Yolei admitted, "That's one of the things I respected and appreciated about him. But I not going to mope around thinking about what could have been. Life is way too short for that kind of sulking and self-pity! Ken thinks I'm desirous and he thinks of me as his royal-haired maiden! I'm going to give my all to make this work!"

"She didn't take as long to accept her feelings as I originally thought she would," Poromon quietly said to himself as he saw that burning spirit of optimism in Yolei's eyes.

* * *

(The Next Day)

Kari was talking and walking hand-in-hand with Davis with their finger interlocked with each other's while on their way to school. After they arrived at the school, Kari made her way to her locker after telling Davis she would catch up with him in class. Once at her locker, she got her few things she needed, and closed her locker. Just as she was about to meet back up with Davis…

"Hey Kari!" came TK's voice as he quickly approached her. Kari turned to the bearer of Hope and greeted, "Good morning TK. Making your way to class now?"

"That," TK said, "And I was hoping to meet up with you before class."

"Really?" Kari asked quizzically, "What for?"

"I tried calling you a few times yesterday but you didn't answer your phone," TK said.

"You tried calling me?" Kari asked, "I wasn't aware. I must have had my phone on silent."

"So, Tai didn't remember to tell you that I tried calling the house too," TK figured.

"I guess he didn't," Kari guessed, "You know how Tai's memories work sometimes; selective."

"I wouldn't know about that," TK said, "Anyway, I was calling because I was wondering if later today after school-"

"You can ask Davis to agree to a rematch for losing last week's game," said a voice from behind TK. TK and Kari looked to see Davis standing behind TK with a confident smile on his face.

"Very funny Davis," TK remarked dryly while being annoyed by his bad timing and cutting his off from asking Kari his intended question.

"I'm happy to have brighten up your day," Davis replied in sarcasm. Kari was about to say something until she looked at her watch.

"Uh Oh!" Kari warned, "We only have a couple of minutes before class starts! We better hurry to class now! C'mon!"

Getting her things, Kari hurried to class, leaving Davis and TK behind.

"When was Kari ever this much in hurry to head to class?" Davis wondered aloud.

"I want to ask you something Davis," TK said while having a frown on his face. Davis looked at TK and saw the mood he was in. Not the least bit bothered by it, Davis inquired, "What's your question?"

"Do you like Kari?" TK asked straightforwardly.

"Do I like Kari?" Davis repeated.

"As more than just a friend?" TK asked, "Yes or No?"

Seeing where the conversation was going, Davis answered directly without the slightest hesitation, "I'm aware that you like Kari a lot, TK. I saw it since the first day you stepped foot into our class. Your eyes went directly to her."

"So, you knew since then," TK said as a matter of fact.

"I'm observant," Davis remarked, "Something as a leader I had to learn to be."

"I recall when we met again in the library that same day that you said that Kari never once mentioned me to you," TK said, "I will admit that I was rather surprised."

"As was I," Davis said, "But I'm sure she had her reasons, whatever they were. But tell me, please, what exactly are you hoping to happen between you and Kari?"

 _'Every time he uses that term in reference to my crest I feel like he's mocking me,'_ TK frowned and then said, "I want her to become my girlfriend. I want to believe that I had a chance with her considering how long we knew each other, the adventures we had and the dangers we faced together in the Digital World."

"If Kari was truly into like that TK," Davis said frankly, "Then she would have spent more of her time thinking and talking about you than any other guy she knows. If she truly liked you, no other guy would have mattered to her or be just as if not more important to her."

As truthful as Davis' words were, TK still felt hurt to hear them. He recalled how Kari would behave and talk when it came to Davis and for the life of him, TK couldn't stand it even though Davis never once bragged about it.

"I advised you last week TK that it wouldn't be wise to hope or have expectations of a relationship that will never happen if all you get is friend zoned by your love interest," Davis reminded with a neutral expression.

"You don't know that Davis!" TK countered, "I just didn't get the chance to talk to Kari and ask her out because you interfered just a few moments ago when I was just about to."

"I won't lie to you TK and before you get your hopes up any higher in believing that you have a chance in getting Kari to become your girlfriend, let me set the records straight for you," Davis said, "Kari is not interested in you in any romantic way, period," Davis said straightforwardly before seeing the look of gloom on TK's face. TK knew this was the case but he wanted to hold on to a glimmer of hope that there was still a chance of he could change Kari's mind about him.

"Did she tell you this personally?" TK asked as he needed to know if that was the case.

"She did a few weeks ago, when I ask her myself if she has any romantic attraction towards you after I told her how much you like her. And if you think I'm lying, then you're more than welcomed to ask her yourself," Davis openly said as he saw TK slightly wince on hearing that.

 _'So Davis did speak to Kari about my feelings for her and asked if she had any attraction towards me,'_ TK thought and said, "You really did take my feelings for her into consideration and went to find out if she likes me or not."

"I'm sorry but she made it very clear that she's not interested in having you for a boyfriend," Davis said, "And that's the truth. That was why I gave you that advice about the friend zone because I didn't want you to have high hopes for a romance with Kari that will never happen only to have your heart broken in the end."

"It's you she wants," TK stated, "I always knew this but I had hoped that I could change her mind and get her to look at me in the same way she looks at you. Tell me, are you both dating?"

"We only recently started," Davis revealed, "I was the one who asked her out."

"So Kari's your girlfriend now," TK said dejectedly as he futilely tried to fight back the tears running down his lowered face.

"I'm working on it," Davis replied, "We didn't make anything official yet. But I will tell you this, I'm certain you'll find girl who'll love and appreciate you for just being you. I know it'll happen, count on it," Davis assured before he raised and extended his right hand forward in TK's direction, "Are there any hard feelings towards me or Kari, Takeru Takaishi?"

There was a moment of silence between the two males as Davis waited for TK's answer to his question. TK wiped his tears away and took a deep breath to calm himself down. After taking another moment to clear his head and calm his emotions, TK reached out and shook Davis' hand and honestly said, "There's no hard feelings and I wish both you and Kari the best," but then TK warned, "But if you break Kari's heart, then mark my words Davis you'll be the one HOPING for a Miracle to happen to protect you from both me and Tai once we come hunting for you."

"While I admire your chivalry TK," Davis remarked, "Here's some important facts you need to know: First off, I wouldn't break the heart of the girl whose life I've repeatedly saved at the risk of my own. Secondly," Davis laughed, "I kicked your ass and everyone else's asses all at once when I posed at the Digimon Emperor! I had you guys in tears while begging for mercy! You're better off _hoping_ to find a better way to intimidate me instead of giving me idle threats!"

"Don't get cocky!" TK retorted, "Patamon and I have been doing some extensive training since that incident! The others and I will have a rematch against you!"

"Nice show of bravado TK," Davis taunted while giving a mocking applause, "But I'm still not impressed or intimidated one bit!"

"Why you…!" TK growled at the insult Davis through at him. As this dispute was going on, unknown to them, Kari was smiling and laughing while watching the scene from behind the corner of the hallway. She was there watching and listening to the conservation between Davis and TK from the time Davis began explained Kari's feelings about both him and TK. She was happy and impressed in the mature and dignified manner Davis handled such a sensitive topic while maintaining peace between himself and TK and encouraging TK to stay optimistic in finding someone love as a girlfriend.

 _'Once again Davis,'_ Kari thought, _'You've managed to do something to truly amaze me. You managed to win TK over in not only accepting the fact that you and I are dating, but also to remain as our teammate and comrade. You truly are the bearer of Friendship,'_ Kari then called out, "Davis! TK! What are you guys waiting for!? Class is just about to start now! Hurry up already!"

After they realized how late it got, Davis and TK ended their trivial dispute and made haste to class with Kari in their company.

* * *

(Meanwhile In The Digital World)

 **"V-Headbutt!"** Veemon yelled out before he collided his head hard into the Champion-level mercenary Digimon known as DarkLizardmon. Gatomon and the other Digimon with him were doing their best to deal with the virus-type nightmare soldier dragon Digimon that came to do battle with them and it proved to be a fierce battle between DarkLizardmon and the other five Digimon.

"This guy is a real problem!" a battered Patamon remarked as he held onto his wounded left bat ear.

"I don't understand why he's so bent on fighting and killing us!" Armadillomon said after he sustained a number of injuries from the Champion evil-dragon Digimon.

"It's not any of you pathetic weaklings I'm interested in killing!" DarkLizardmon stated, "It's Veemon I'm after! I knew attacking Gatomon and the rest of you waste of data would flush him out!"

 _'He doesn't have a dark ring on him,'_ an exhausted and injured Hawkmon noticed, _'Therefore he's acting on his own free will.'_

"Why are you doing this!?" Gatomon asked angrily while dealing with the pain of her injuries and few burns on her, "We're not your enemies!"

"Your beloved mate exists!" DarkLizardmon replied, "I was contracted to destroy him! Now get out of my way so I can finish the job!"

"And who sent you?!" Gatomon asked loudly.

"Answer us!" Veemon demanded.

"Never mind that! It's time to die!" DarkLizardmon threatened before he charged forward and thrust his right claws out against Gatomon and Veemon. The two Digimon barely evaded the attack as they made a small distance from the viral Digimon. Gatomon soon rushed back to deliver a counterattack. DarkLizardmon began accumulating power after seeing Gatomon charging at him.

 **"Lightning Paw!"** Gatomon cried out as she dashed forward to strike DarkLizardmon with a solid punch only to be met with…

 **"Darkness Ray!"** DarkLizardmon yelled out as he fired a stream of black fire from its mouth. Gatomon was moving too fast in one direction and realized she wouldn't be able to dodge the attack in time. She braced for the attack and expected to feel immense pain when…

 **"Desolation Claw!"** Veemon called out in a more gruff and fierce tone as he sent out super-oscillatory waves that countered and cancelled out DarkLizardmon's attack. Seeing that the attack was cancelled out by Veemon, Gatomon managed to land down on her paws and move away from DarkLizard's range of attack. Veemon summoned Cyberdramon's power and wings once again and grew Cyberdramon's metal tipped claws out of his fingers

"I've had just about enough of you!" Veemon growled, "You'll regret attacking me and hurting my friends, especially Gatomon!"

"I've never seen this transformation before!" Hawkmon said.

"I have," Gatomon said, "Draco have only resorted to this once before under extreme circumstances when I was nearly deleted by those two Devidramon."

"Your new look won't save you from me deleting you!" DarkLizardmon threatened, **"Dark Flare!"** DarkLizardmon screamed out as his body ignited with an aura of black flames as he raced forward at Veemon in order to incinerate him.

The dragon Digimon however evaded the assault by using his wings to dodge to the side and hover in the air before he dove and delivered a swift punch to DarkLizardmon's face, sending the mercenary Digimon flying into a large tree while causing a small amount of harm to Veemon himself as the blue dragon Digimon shook his clawed hand from the slight pain the black flames caused him as a result of coming into direct contact with them. After DarkLizardmon crashed hard into the ground with a thud, the viral Digimon looked up in time to see a boulder coming flying at him in courtesy of Veemon lifting and throwing it at him. DarkLizardmon just barely dodged the boulder that struck and knocked the tree down from out of the ground as it collapsed to the floor from the impact.

DarkLizardmon didn't see when Veemon moved as the blue dragon Digimon appeared behind him and grabbed him tightly by his metal faceplate.

"Damn you! Let me go!" DarkLizardmon demanded as he struggled in a futile attempt to break free from Veemon's vise-like grip on him. And with a mighty flap of his wings, Veemon flew up and high into the air carrying his opponent into the skies with him. Once high enough, Veemon started spinning around in vertical circle with the viral Digimon in his tight grip, causing the flaming Digimon to spin with him. After Veemon picked up enough speed and momentum, he launched DarkLizardmon down through the skies and into the ground, cratering it on contact. After the impact, which left viral Digimon disoriented and wounded, Veemon wasted no time and soared down at jet speed straight to his target. With his deadly right claws locked on his target, Veemon yelled out, **"Desolation Claw!"**

DarkLizardmon was slashed fatally across the chest by Veemon and began breaking apart into data particles while screaming. Veemon however wasn't going allow DarkLizardmon's data to escape as he started glowing and pulling the data into his body, commencing the assimilation process. Gatomon, Patamon, Hawkmon and Armadillomon watched silently as Veemon absorbed every last bit of DarkLizardmon's data until there was nothing left of him. When that was done, Veemon stood there glowing motionlessly with a series of glowing binary codes of zeros and ones swirling and calculating all over his entire body as he processed and encoded the viral Digimon's data into his being, making that Digimon and his powers and strength permanently part of him.

"So that's Veemon's ability fearfully known as Assimilation," Hawkmon deduced.

"Making DarkLizardmon the fourth Digimon that Veemon assimilated," Gatomon said.

"Do you be keeping count?" Patamon asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No," Gatomon said, "But Draco does."

When the assimilation process was over, the glowing binary codes flashed and disappeared into Veemon's body before he changed back to normal and went over to Gatomon and the others.

"Are you guys alright?" Veemon asked.

"Nothing a little chicken soup can't cure," Armadillomon said, "I'm happy that battle is over."

"It's safe to say that we'll never see DarkLizardmon ever again," Hawkmon remarked, "I'm happy you're on our side as our strongest leading Digimon and not as our enemy."

"What you guys saw is what Digimon like myself were infamously feared for during the ancient dark times I survived and lived through," Veemon said grimly, "I only use it as a last resort and that Digimon was hell bent on killing me, even if it meant hurting guys to force me out."

"He said that he was contracted to kill you," Gatomon reminded, "It's anyone's guess who could have hired him to have you destroyed Draco. I just wish we knew who hired that Digimon to attack you."

"Tigress," Veemon said, "Like Davis, I have a lot of enemies. And like Davis, I won't cower to them. I'll fight them all."

"You don't have to fight them by yourself Draco," Gatomon assured affectionately as she went over and embraced him, "We'll stand with you and battle them also."

Hawkmon, Patamon and Armadillomon nodded their heads in agreement.

"We'll have to send word to Davis and the others about this incident," Veemon advised, "They'll need to know what happened here."

As they were talking with Veemon checking their injuries and burns from DarkLizardmon's fire attacks, unbeknownst to the group, a dark ring was hovering over them.

* * *

(Unknown Location In The Digital World)

Ken, dressed in his Digimon Emperor clothes, was watching the scene between Veemon and his friends from his main monitor screen. He frowned deeply after seeing how things turned out.

"DarkLizardmon not only failed to defeat Veemon but he ended up getting assimilated by him," Ken said with a neutral tone, "I should have searched for a deadlier Digimon to use against Davis' damn dragon if I knew ahead of time that DarkLizardmon would have proven to be no match for him!"

Wormmon was in the background of the chamber. Like Ken, he watched the entire battle play out and saw how his friend Veemon was still just as powerful if not far stronger than before.

"There must be more suitable Digimon I can use against Veemon," Ken said to himself before he started searching through a list of Digimon with their abilities from his database, "I just have to narrow it down to the best options I have at my disposal."

Ken's moment of peace was interrupted when his Digimon partner brought up an unwelcomed topic.

"How do you think Yolei will react when she finds out that you're the Digimon Emperor trying kill Davis, Ken?" Wormmon asked with a pleading tone, causing Ken to freeze in his place, "Don't you think she'll be heartbroken and hurt when she find out who you are? We both know you're not yourself as the Digimon Emperor and the only time you allow yourself to be your real self is when you're with her. You hated how Yolei was so into Davis, but I saw genuine happiness from you when she started taking an interest in you."

"You're treading on thin ice with me Wormmon!" Ken growled angrily as while dealing with conflicting emotions and inner-guilt from listening to Wormmon's words.

"Your best option at your disposal would be to join sides with Davis and let him help you fight and free you from this evil possessing you Ken!" Wormmon begged. In a fit of rage, Ken turned and kicked Wormmon away from him and pulled his whip and struck him with it.

"Get out of my sight Wormmon!" Ken yelled, "Don't come back here unless I summon you!"

Ken opened the sliding down to his chamber and tossed Wormmon out before closing the door back. After doing that, Ken took a moment to calm himself down and clear his head.

"Why do I continue to tolerate and keep that unless Digimon around?" Ken asked himself while knowing he wasn't going to get any form of reply. Pushing down Wormmon's early words about Yolei to the back of his mind, Ken went back to what he was previously doing in searching for a new Digimon to send after Davis and Veemon. As he was doing so, he remembered a project he had been meaning to start up in the arctic mountainous region of the DigiWorld. But he knew that Davis and the others would interfere once they receive word about what was happening in that part of the Digital World.

"I'm going have to plan this out carefully if this mission is to be Davis' and Veemon's undoing!" Ken said with a darker tone than normal tone, "I'll make sure that they don't come back alive from their next mission!"

* * *

 **Ken is plotting something deadly for Davis and Veemon. Will his plan succeed this time? Davis and Kari finally started dating, but will Davis succeed in overcoming his feelings of awkwardness because of his mental and emotional age difference between himself and Kari? Find out next time.**

* * *

 **A/N: For those who didn't catch on or realize it, the chapter's title "D Harmony" was a parody of eHarmony. Though originally, I thought about having "D" standing for "Dating."**


	10. Chapter Ten: Arctic Death

**Chapter Ten: Arctic Death**

* * *

(Three Weeks Later)

During the past couple of days, Davis had been leading his team in their battles against the Digimon Emperor and a few times Davis had dangerous close calls with regards to his personal safety as Ken was making it violently clear that he was specifically trying to kill both him and Veemon while not really caring about the others. This forced Davis to take several precautions in the event his life was truly threatened and he did this by always informed and keeping Andromon up to date about his location and mission objectives in Digital World. But, through it all, Davis and Veemon stayed strong and continued going forward.

During Davis' and Veemon's lone search for Ken's fortress, they encountered an Ultimate Digimon called Phantomon and three viral Champion Digimon, Bakemon, who were sent out by Ken to attack and kill them. Realizing that they didn't have dark rings on them, it was clear to Davis and Veemon that those viral Digimon out of their own free will, came to eliminate them as hired mercenaries. Knowing that their lives were at stake, Davis, not wanting to any chances, digivolved Veemon to ExVeemon and told his partner to assimilate them. ExVeemon made quick works in fighting and absorbing the three Bakemon's data into himself, leaving Phantomon as the last line of offense.

The Champion dragon Digimon took some hard hits from Phantomon's scythe attack, but in the end the viral Ultimate didn't prove to be much of a challenge to ExVeemon. Seeing how he was outmatched, Phantomon tried to escape, but ExVeemon wasn't having that as he grabbed and held onto Phantomon up against his chest in a crushing bear hug, completely immobilizing him. While holding Phantomon in his vise-like grip, ExVeemon, using his enhanced V-Laser, blasted Phantomon into a whirl of data particles before assimilating his data entirely until there wasn't a scrap of data left, making Phanotmon the second Ultimate Digimon that Davis' partner assimilated.

But on a more positive note, Kari and Yolei started getting along much better than how they used to before as the group saw that they no longer had their ongoing feud and rivalry with each other anymore. In fact, they started working together willingly as friends and partners without holding a grudge against each other. Davis and the rest of the team figured that Kari and Yolei finally made peace with each other and were rather relieved that they did. It was no secret to Yolei that Kari and Davis started dating, and Kari had expected Yolei to be resentful to her for it. But to Kari's surprise, Yolei instead congratulated Kari and wished her and Davis the best and assured Kari that she held no ill will towards her for winning Davis over, but that was because Yolei was secretly dating Ken which she had yet to reveal to Davis and the others.

Other than that, Kari had been very happy with her last couple of dates with Davis and needless to say, she was very surprised at how romantically charismatic Davis was, even for a boy genius at his age. When she had one of her girl talks with Sora and related some of her experiences with Davis, even Sora was impressed with Davis' style and romantic mannerism. While Sora was happy with her relationship with Tai, after hearing some of the things Kari told her, she felt Tai could take some pointers from Davis, not that Sora would actually tell Tai to do so but Sora made it a goal to imply to some things she'd like for him to do with her.

With regards to Jun and Matt, they started hanging together very frequently after she attended his concerted he invited her to when he gave her a free ticket to attend it. He invited her multiple times to sit in on during band practice with his friends seeing how good she was with the guitar. While Jun accepted, and did so on all occasions, Matt's band members though saw this as Matt's excuse for Jun to be around him more frequently but they knew it was because he really liked her and was trying to get to know her.

During those occasions, Matt would also coach and train Jun in playing the guitar, and over the course of days, both Matt and his band members saw how greatly Jun improved in performing with the guitar. They even suggested to Matt to consider having Jun as their band's new and first female member. Matt at first was hesitant about it since he didn't know how their fans would take to them as an all-boy band having a female as part of their band. But after some coaching and reassurance from his band members that they would support both him and Jun, Matt made his aim to ask Jun to join their band.

* * *

(That Morning; At The Motomiya Residence)

Davis was sleeping peacefully in his bedroom under his sheets. A few hours before going to sleep, he met up with Veemon in the DigiWorld for another rigorous weightlifting exercise and fitness training session, which also including hand boxing. It was something Veemon suggested to Davis in light of the number of dangers Davis repeatedly found himself in during their time battling Ken's forces. For the past two weeks, hand boxing became part of Davis' new fitness routine besides all of his other exercises and diet routine. With Veemon as his training and sparring partner, his already augmented strength, agility and speed improved continuously. The only issue was that it would leave Davis sore and completely drained with the need of much sleep and rest.

As Davis was enjoying his slumber, Jun, while still dressed in her knee-high sleeping gown, entered his room quietly while carrying something in the shadows. Quietly closing the door, the Jun went over to Davis, and stood by his head. Moving the cylinder-shaped item that she was carrying in her hand towards the ceiling, she pressed down on the head of the can, blasting a very loud horn noise into Davis' room, waking and startling him instantly. The item turned out to be an aerosol air horn.

"Time to wake up Davis!" Jun sang with a smile while feigning innocence. Davis turned to Jun angrily just before his alarm went off.

"Seriously Jun!?" Davis replied with a deep scowl and tone of annoyance, "You woke up this early in the morning just so you can be a pain and prank me again!?"

"Just making sure my beloved little brother gets up and get ready for school," Jun sang while ignoring Davis' scowl at her.

"I really am the mature one," Davis mumbled before throwing the sheets off him, revealing to be wearing nothing but his underwear as usual before going to sleep. Turning his attention to his alarm clock, he reached out and turned it off.

"You don't like wearing pajamas before going to bed, do you?" Jun asked while Davis stood up off his bed.

"At the very least I keep my underwear on," Davis replied "And considering how you routinely and shamelessly prance around the place naked and wearing nothing but a towel around your body after a shower, you shouldn't be talking Jun."

Jun rolled her eyes and snorted, "Whatever."

"Besides," Davis continued as he walked to an open part of his room, "Sleeping with no clothes on helps me to sleep better and it's more comfortably. Plus, there are actual benefits to sleeping without clothes on. You ought to try it sometimes."

"So sleeping like a nudist is your thing, huh?" Jun replied.

"Like I said Jun," Davis remarked, "You shouldn't be talking. I'm not ashamed of my own nudity if that's what you're wondering," Davis said as he started his routine morning stretches, "Besides, I don't pester you about how you sleep at night."

"Does Kari know how you sleep at night?" Jun teased, "Do you send her pictures or does she send you pictures?"

"Get out!" Davis retorted, "I have to get ready for school without you pranking and pestering me for my time and attention you crude woman."

"Whatever," Jun remarked as Davis continued his stretches. While Jun never said it however, it always bothered her how Davis had such a strong muscularly built and toned body for his age and secretly she tried to make sense out of it.

 _'Sure,'_ Jun thought, _'I know Davis is athletic and on the soccer team, but that doesn't explain his physical appearance. For all I know, all boys Davis' age aren't that muscularly built with strong looking abs…he even grew taller on top of that now that I think about it! I can't believe I'm only now noticing that! I'm sure that even Matt doesn't look as strong looking as Davis does and he's older than my brother. If Matt and Davis were to ever fight it out against each other, I'd put my money on Davis coming out on top as the victor of that fight. I know Davis isn't on steroids or some kind of miracle drug that gave him his strong built, but I can't help but wonder how Davis managed to acquire the muscularly physique he presently has.'_

"Jun?" Davis asked with a frown on his face, "Why are you still in my room staring at me like that?"

Jun snapped out of her private contemplation and replied, "Say what? What did you say?"

"I said you're still in my room staring at me!" Davis repeated with a deadpan look on his face.

"I was not!" Jun denied with an embarrassed expression, "I simply had something on my mind and I just blink out thinking about it."

 _'I don't even want to know what was on your mind,'_ Davis thought and then replied, "Think about whatever it was that on your mind elsewhere," Davis said, "Now can you get out!"

"Alright I'm going," Jun answered before turning around and leaving her brother's room. Exiting the room, she closed the door behind her without realizing that forgot her aerosol air horn in Davis' room.

"…That crude woman," Davis sighed to himself, Davis decided to forget about what happened and get himself ready for the day.

* * *

(Meanwhile; In The Digital World)

In the arctic icecap and snow-covered mountains in the northern region of the DigiWorld, a team of Digimon with dark rings around their necks were working around the clock to finish a new prison that the Digimon Emperor wanted completed in a hurry.

"Faster you worthless piles of expendable data!" Ken barked, "I want the construction of the new prison completed on schedule!"

"What do he need a prison up here in the arctic region for?" a Digimon in hiding asked himself as he spied on the activity going on. Ken walked off and started on his way elsewhere. Gomamon, now seeing that the Digimon Emperor left the scene, made his way to find a TV in order to send an alert to Joe about what was going on in the DigiWorld. Find a TV however proved to be easier said than done where there weren't much people who travel to the arctic part of the DigiWorld. Gomamon had to travel for quite a distance for a period of time before he finally came across a TV.

"Finally!" Gomamon cheered as he raced quickly for the TV and upon arriving he made haste to send Joe a S.O.S. call about what was presently happening.

"I hope Joe gets this message soon!" Gomamon said as he sent the message out to Joe. Just as Gomamon was relaying the coordinates of his location…

"For your sakes, he and Davis have better!" a sinister voice said behind Gomamon before a small mallet was thrown at Gomamon. The Digimon quickly turned and moved out of the way of the incoming mallet before it smashed into the TV scene. The Rookie Digimon looked in front of him see…

"It's you!" Gomamon yelled, "The Digimon Emperor!"

"Who else were you expecting?" Ken replied before Gizamon appeared and stood behind him.

"Gizamon," Ken offered, "I'll give you all a grand reward if you do one thing: Attack and beat Gomamon to a bloody pulp!"

The Gizamon didn't waste time when they went on the attack.

 **"Spiral Saw!"** a couple of the Gizamon shouted as the came at Gomamon with their sharp, blade-like dorsal fins. Gomamon was only able to dodge them for so long until they wore him down enough to finally make successful assaults against him. The brutality they inflicted on the Rookie Digimon was enough to leave the motionless Gomamon for dying and so to die.

"We've done as you asked Digimon Emperor," one of the Gizamon said, "Where's our reward as promised?"

"Ah yes, your reward for services rendered," Ken remarked with a cold and dark tone before having a set of dark rings fastened around their bodies as their reward. Ken went over to Gomon and said coldly, "I hope Davis indeed gets your message and comes to this region. I really do."

Ken then kicked Gomamon hard away from him, causing the already battered Digimon to roll a couple of times on the snow and hardened ice. Ken then turned and walked off after ordering the Gizamon to follow him back to where the new prison was being constructed.

* * *

(Hours Later; Back In The Real World)

Kari was on the school roof sitting on the bench attentively watching and listening to Davis playing his violin for her. Since they started dating, Davis would play the violin for her on a number of occasions and never once did Kari ever get tired of it as she would always look forward to watching him play his violin solo for her. Currently the pair were the only two people on the school roof. When Davis was finished, Kari clapped her hands for him.

"That was very good Davis!" Kari complimented, "You always seem to always get better."

"Time and practice, Kari," Davis said, "That's all it takes," Davis went over to Kari who was still sitting on the bench next to his violin carrying case. He placed and secured his violin and bow back in its case and then closed it shut. Looking Kari straight in the eyes, Davis took her by the hands and gently pulled her up off the bench to stand her up.

While holding her hands in his, Davis said, "Kari, we've been long time best friends since we were six years old. We grew up together, lived to have many adventurous and dangerous experiences together, and we will continue having new experiences together. Since we started dating we got to see and learn new things about each other. Even when times had gotten hard and the others turned on me for my decisions as leader, you faithfully and loyally stood by my side despite your own feelings towards my decisions and actions as leader. All these things made me realize just how special and dearly important you are to me."

Kari's felt her heart beating hard and fast in high expectancy, as if it was about to burst out of her. She felt excitement building up in her while hoping with dear life that nothing would ruin the private moment of Davis' confession to her.

 _'You don't need to say much Davis,'_ Kari mentally beseeched, _'I just need to hear you say those three little yet powerful words to me Davis! That's all I need to he-'_

"What I want to say is," Davis confessed, "I love you, Hikari Kamiya. Will you be my girlfriend?"

Kari felt her heart skip a beat, as waves of emotions, excitement and happiness washed over her. She felt as though Davis just proposed to her. After Davis' words to sank in, Kari happily accepted, "I love you too Daisuke and Yes! I'll be your girlfriend!"

Davis smiled happily slowly move his face closer to hers. Kari closed her eyes as she softly felt Davis' lips meet her for the first time in their lives. The kiss felt sweet and gentle as Davis started building up the right amount of confidence while recalling something Kari told him a few weeks ago while playing that mature-version Jenga game. And putting what he recalled into action, Davis briefly started stroking Kari's hair while kissing her and then pulled her head closer. Kari felt Davis taking control which she found to be a total turn-on.

Davis soon stopped kissing Kari for a moment and pulled his face away in a short distance before placing both of his hands on her face. He just stared at her like he could devour her before going in for another kiss, this time more passionately. Kari for her part felt like it was just heavenly for her as she returned the kiss with the same amount of passion. After their make-out session, Davis pulled his lips away from hers and gave her a tiny peck on each cheek, then on the tip of her nose, and the last one on her forehead ending their make-out session with sweetness. That sent chills and excitement up Kari's spine as she blushed hotly and giggled.

"I believe you told me once that this is how you dreamed of being kissed," Davis said with a confident smile, "Did I disappoint?"

"I'm surprised you even remembered something like that!" Kari said in disbelief.

"Whatever it takes to satisfy you," Davis replied, causing Kari to giggle before she embraced him tightly as she buried her face in his neck, "I waited a long time for this moment Daisuke. I'm so happy you wanted and chose to have me closer to you."

"It was always my dream to find a girl who'd love and appreciate me for just being me," Davis said, "I almost made the mistake of not realizing that it was you all along, Kari."

"I don't hold it against you," Kari assured, "That's all in the past. And I couldn't think of a better boyfriend," Kari pulled her head away to look at him with a toothy smile, "Than the one boy who has always been my best and closest friend."

Davis smiled and kissed her again which she happily accepted. From the entrance of the roof, TK looked through the partly opened door to see the scene of Davis and Kari together kissing each other affectionately.

"She clearly made her choice and I have to accept that and be happy for her," TK said in a low voice as a few tears ran down his face. Though TK knew that Kari had no romantic interest in him however, it was still difficult to move on from his feelings and attraction to Kari. But seeing Davis ask Kari to finally to become his girlfriend with Kari accepting to do so and consummating that with a kiss made it very clear to TK that it was time to let go and move on from Kari and look for another girl to be interested in. TK wiped away his tears and took a few deep breaths to calm himself down and rationally think things through.

He knew things would awkward between himself and Kari for a while. But he knew Davis and Kari would never intentionally hurt him or play with his emotions. And that led him to remember Cody's words about Davis' character in how Davis never once tried to compete with him for Kari's affections or make him jealous in any way. He then recalled how Davis told him that he personally inquired from Kari if she likes him, TK, or not. And Davis did that a few weeks before he decided to ask her out himself. Davis didn't just immediately jump at the opportunity to ask her out despite knowing Kari really likes him and even after he did so, Davis himself admitted from the beginning that he wasn't totally sure how things would progress between himself and Kari as they just started dating, but as TK just secretly eyewitnessed, things worked out between Davis and Kari to the point that they become an official couple.

"I have to accept and be happy for Kari and Davis," TK reiterated to himself, "I can't dwell on what I wish could have been between me and Kari. I have to move on."

After regaining his composure, he was a about to quietly close the door to the roof to give Davis and Kari their privacy when…

"TK!" an older masculine voice called to him from the bottom of the stairwell. TK looked to see Joe, Cody and Yolei at the bottom of the stairs looking at him.

"Joe, Cody, Yolei?" TK asked, "What are you three doing here?"

"There's trouble in the Digital World!" Joe answered with a fully alerted tone in his voice, "I got a distress call from Gomamon before it went offline! This is serious! Where's Davis and Kari? Have you seen them?"

"Up on the roof," TK answered, forgetting that Kari and Davis were still making out on the roof behind the door he was standing by.

"Well let's get them! We need them now!" Joe replied before he and the others hurried up the stairs to retrieve the pair. They went through the door and…

"Davis! Kari!" Joe called out, causing the pair to abruptly break off and pull away from each other the moment they heard their names being called out. That was when TK realized that he forgot that they were making out, but he stayed quiet after seeing how things turned awkward.

"Were we interrupting an intimate moment between you two?" Cody asked. Davis cleared his throat while Kari lowered her darkened reddened face in sheer embarrassment.

"It's nothing Kari and I can't put on hold until later," Davis remarked.

"Davis!" Kari replied with her blush turning darker.

"What's the emergency?" Davis asked after becoming serious.

"I got a distress call from Gomamon before his call abruptly went offline," Joe explained, "I'm left to believe that something happened while he was transmitting his message."

"Were you able to get the coordinate of his late transmission?" Davis inquired.

"Partially," Joe answered, "As he was relaying them to me, the signal was cut off."

"It can only be assumed that the TV he was using was destroyed by an ambush," Davis deduced.

"So what now?" Yolei asked.

"We'll have to estimate the closest range to where Gomamon's last transmission originated from and head out from there," Davis suggested, "C'mon, let's make our way to the computer room."

(Meanwhile Back In The Digital World)

Gomamon, was covered in bruises and other injuries as he made his way through the snow, having barely escaped the brutal ambush from the Digimon Emperor and his minions of Gizamon now under his full control.

"And they use to say no wicked deed goes unpunished," Gomamon remarked, "Now it's like no righteous deed goes without getting a beat down."

Gomamon hardly have any strength to continue moving before he collapsed to the snow. He struggled to remain conscious but the effects of his injuries were starting to take their toll on him.

"Gotta get…to Joe," Gomamon mumbled, "Gotta…get…get…the warning out…not…not to bring along…"

Gomanmon's head fell to the floor having lost all consciousness.

(In Another Part Of The Digital World)

Davis and his team with Joe in company arrived in the DigiWorld and found themselves in the arctic icecaps high above the mountains.

"Of all the places that the Digimon Emperor had to be, it had to be in the mountains covered in snow and ice!" Yolei complained.

"I don't like it any more than you Yolei," Cody said, "But it's not like we can do anything to change the situation."

"Cody's right," Joe said, "We have to find my partner and stop the Digimon Emperor!"

Kari clutched herself as she felt the cold of the mountain hugging her body. Unfortunate for her, she was only in a beige short pants and pink t-shirt with pink fingerless arm-length gloves, none of which did much to keep her warm. Seeing his girlfriend's plight, Davis removed his thick jacket and placed it around her. Kari smiled brightly as she accepted Davis' kind gesture.

"Thanks Davis," Kari thanked while holding his jacket close to her body, "But what about you?"

"I'll be fine" Davis assured, "I've faced and endured far worse than this. Besides, I can't let you get sick while on my watch."

Kari's nose managed to catch Davis' scent within his jacket but she didn't mind it as it made her feel like she was being held and embraced by her boyfriend.

"I wish the Digital World would have given us some snow clothes," TK remarked while having to deal with the cold like everyone else.

"It is what it is, TK," Davis replied, "There's nothing we can do about that. But as Joe said, we have to find Gomamon and find out what the Digimon Emperor is scheming this time."

"Look over there!" Cody shouted as he pointed to something in a distance from them.

"Is that what I think it is?" Armadillomon inquired.

Davis went and took a closer look at what Cody took notice of. After the object of discussion come into view, Davis realized…

"It's a sled!" Davis stated, "A nice sized one to boot, and it has seats too!"

"It looks like one of those large red sleds used by Santa Claus," Patamon commented.

"I wonder what's a sled this big doing out here so conveniently," Hawkmon questioned.

"Does it matter?" Yolei replied, "We have a form of transportation now."

"Only it's frozen into the ice," Cody pointed out.

"That's not a problem," Veemon countered confidently, "Step aside! I got this!"

Cody and the others moved aside as Veemon approached the frozen snow sled. Summoning DarkLizardmon's power, Veemon proceeded to melt the snow and ice all around the sled until it was completely mobile.

"Excellent work and thinking Draco!" Gatomon praised.

"Thanks," Veemon replied, "As payment from you, I accepted hugs, kisses and-"

"You can put them all on my tab Draco," Gatomon remarked.

"Oh I'll put so much more on your tab Tigress," Veemon grinned.

"If you haven't already knowing you," Davis remarked with a sly grin.

"What was that Davis?" Kari asked, knowing Davis had a perverted meaning to his joke.

"Not important," Davis replied playfully.

"Enough flirting you guys!" TK snorted, "You got the sled free from the ice. Now, we have to find a method of hauling it through the ice around the mountains."

"You and the others can board the sled while us Digimon pull the sled along the snow," Patamon suggested.

"Good idea Patamon!" TK agreed.

"Our Digimon won't be pulling the sled along," Davis interjected, "I'm afraid I'll have to scrap Patamon's idea."

"And why's that?" TK asked in confusion.

"Because TK, I have a better idea than that," Davis said as he pulled out his D3, "Veemon, digivolve!"

"Veemon digivolve to…ExVeemon!"

"Everyone board the sled," Davis instructed, "ExVeemon will lift and carry the sled as he flies us around the mountains and search for Gomamon."

"Great idea!" Kari complimented.

"We'll definitely see more from an aerial terrain!" Joe agreed.

"Why didn't I think of that?" TK frowned.

"Because TK," Davis remarked, "As that leader figuring things out for the good of the team is my job. Though I accept helpful inputs from time to time."

TK frowned at Davis' verbal jab at him.

"C'mon let's all get on-board," Davis instructed as and the others started board the sled. It was large enough to seat all six of them as Davis, Kari and Gatomon took the front seats with the others taking the backseats. Hawkmon, Gatomon and Patamon sat on their partners' lap while Armadillomon sat next to Cody. Seeing that everyone seated and on board, ExVeemon floated off the ground and flew over to the sled and grabbed hold of the sled from above at its sides.

"Hang on!" ExVeemon said before lifting the sled off the ground and taking off into the air with it. Davis placed his goggles over his over eyes to keep the snow from his eyes as he and the others looked around to see if Gomamon was somewhere around the mountains. The group flew around for ten minutes and covered a good amount of territory, more than they would have on land.

Soon, Davis took out his D-Terminal and typed a message in it to Gennai.

"What are you typing Davis?" Kari asked.

"Sending a message to Andromon about us searching for Gomamon here in this region," Davis answered, "That way if anything happens he knows where we are and can provide us with some assistance."

A few moment later, Davis sent his message to Andromon and after receiving confirmation that his message was received and read, Davis closed and placed his D-terminal away back in his pocket.

"I see something!" Joe shouted as he recognized a familiar figure lying motionlessly in the snow. ExVeemon flew the sled closer and upon doing so…

"It's Gomoman!" Joe identified urgently, "Hurry! He's hurt!"

ExVeemon flew down and landed the sled carefully and safely. The group got out of the sled and hurried over to the unconscious Gomamon. Joe got to his partner first and brought him into his arms as he checked on his partner's condition. Gomamon was heavily beaten and was covered into bruises and some of his own blood.

"How is he?" Davis asked with a concerned tone.

"He's hurt pretty bad," Joe said as he continued to examine his partner, "Whoever did this was really out to get him."

"It was an ambush," Gomamon said as he finally regained consciousness, "I was ambushed by a group of Gizamon."

"Did you say Gizamon?" Joe questioned.

"The Digimon Emperor promised to reward them if they attacked me," Gomamon explained, "But he betrayed and enslaved them with dark rings once they were through assaulting me."

"Reminds me of that brutal test Davis gave us when taught us about not trusting the Digimon Emperor to keep his word about whatever deal or promise he would look to make with us," Cody remarked.

"You and the others figured that out on your own," Davis corrected, "I didn't have to teach you or the others that at any time."

Cody gave no reply as he clearly saw Davis' point. Joe asked his Digimon partner, "Do you remember where you first saw them and the Digimon Emperor?"

"I remember," Gomamon assured, "It's in an area where they're building some kind of prison. For what or who I don't know."

"Well then," Davis said, "For whatever purpose that prison is being built for it'll never see the light of day. Did you see a control spire around the prison under construction?"

"I'm pretty sure there was one not too far from it Davis. Why you ask?" Gomamon asked.

"If we take out that control spire you can digivolve and be an extra fire power for us in freeing those enslaved Digimon," Davis said, "We'll stop and shut down the Digimon Emperor's new operation and free the other Digimon!"

"Sounds like a plan to me," Joe agreed.

"C'mon guys!" Davis said, "Let's get back on the sled and allow Gomamon lead us to where the Digimon Emperor's new base is at."

The group made haste and hurried back to the sled. ExVeemon carried and flew the sled in the direction Gomamon instructed. It wasn't long until they found the location of the prison Gomamon was talking about.

"I take it that building that's under construction is the prison you're talking about," Davis deduced as he and the others saw the building from a distance.

"Same one unless it was relocated," Gomamon remarked.

Davis instructed, "ExVeemon, land us down away from the vicinity of the prison and-"

 **"Pummel Whack!"** a familiar yet strange-looking Digimon roared out as he leaped and soared into ExVeemon's direction through the air. ExVeemon evaded the attack and flew around the Digimon before he made haste to land the sled down to the surface.

"Who was that ugly-looking Digimon that just attacked us!?" Yolei cried out.

"That was Ogremon!" Joe identified, "But why does he look blue and white when he's actually green and white?"

 **"Fist Of The Beast King!"** came the shout of another Digimon as a beam of energy came flying at them. The group rushed away from the incoming attack as it blasted the ground the sled was placed on. The sled was sent flying away from the group and crashed down on its side with some slow and debris landing on top of it. The shock wave of the attack threw the group to the ground and into the snow. As they were getting back up off the snow…

"That attack!" TK identified, "That was none other than Leomon!"

"But he died as SaberLeomon during the battle against MetalEtemon and our war against the Dark Masters years ago," Gomamon recalled.

"Evidently he was resurrected and is attacking us!" Davis said as he helped Kari up. Leomon and Ogremon approached the group and as they did, Joe, TK, Gomamon and Patamon saw that Leomon was also altered in his appearance as his original colors of golden brown and black pants were changed to arctic blue and white with dark blue pants.

"Leomon!" Joe called out, "It's me, Joe! Don't you remember me and Gomamon from our past adventures!?"

Leomon gave no response as he just looked at Joe and Gomamon with an emotionless expression.

"Leomon!" Joe called out again, "You fought by our side against MetalEtemon and always fought for what was right!"

"It's no use Joe!" Gomamon said, "He doesn't recognize us at all!"

"There was no need for him or Ogremon to recognize any of you," a voice said from behind Leomon. Davis and the others looked to see Ken approaching them and stood beside Leomon. Ken, dressed in his Digimon Emperor attire, addressed the group, "Ogremon and the one called Leomon have been made to be my ever-obedient servants."

"What have you done to them?!" Joe demanded.

"All I did was improve and modify them," Ken stated.

"Sounds to me like you experimented on them and removed their memories," Davis deduced.

"Actually," Ken said, "I gave them new enhanced dark rings of my own ingenuity. Their altered appearance was effects of the enhancements I gave to Leomon and Ogremon. I thank you for giving me that excellent idea Davis."

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Davis interrogated.

"I'm talking about your Trial By Fire test you dished out against your team the a few weeks ago," Ken explained, "I watched and was entertained by the way you and ExVeemon brutally made the point to your team physically, mentally and emotionally about how weak and useless they truly are."

"I did no such things!" Davis rebutted, "And my test served a purpose which you don't understand!"

"But you yourself verbally stated and thoroughly proved your point that either without you or if you were the actual Digimon Emperor with the way you and ExVeemon fight and operate, hands down your team would lose and their Digimon would permanently die," Ken replied, "And you'd cruelly have them watch as their Digimon would get assimilated by your partner."

"The test I gave my team wasn't for your amusement!" Davis stated firmly.

"But I still got to hand it to both you and ExVeemon, I never knew you both had it in yourselves to be so cutthroat and ruthless. Even Kari sees you and ExVeemon as bigger threats than me and she admitted that in front of you and everyone!"

"Shut up!" Kari yelled in indignation, "Don't try to twist my words and use them against my boyfriend! You're the threat to the DigiWorld not Davis!"

"Yet everything that's happened here is technically Davis' fault," Ken answered, "Even my rise to power as the Digimon Emperor is Davis' doing. Davis himself even admitted it."

"You're a damn liar!" Kari argued in Davis' defense, "You becoming the Digimon Emperor was a tragedy Davis never wanted to happen to you! You risked your life to save Davis from Millenniummon's final attack before Davis' partner gave that wicked Digimon the final deathblow! Davis is your best friend and he still wants to save you!"

"What are you? His new spokeswoman now?" Ken mocked, "I don't need to be saved by Davis or anyone else! But I can assure you that Davis will be the one needing to be saved from tragedy before this day is over!"

"Enough arguing!" Davis interjected, "We came here to stop you and clean up the mess you're making in this part of the DigiWorld!"

"Yes," Ken replied, "And I see that you came to make an effort to try and stop me again Davis."

"Try?" Davis retorted, "We don't try! We make things happen like all the times we've stopped you before! That won't change!"

"Confident, aren't we?" Ken mocked, "But I'm afraid confidence won't save you this time Davis! There will be blood before this day is out; Yours!"

"Confident, aren't we?" Davis replied, "Everyone! Get ready to fight!"

The other DigiDestineds took out their D3s.

"Everyone! Armor Digivolve!" Davis instructed as his teammates' D-3's lit up.

"Digi-Armor Energize!" Kari, TK, Yolei and Cody shouted simultaneously as they summoned their armor digi-eggs.

"Patamon armor digivolve to…Pegasusmon, Flying Hope!"

"Gatomon armor digivolve to…Nefertimon, the Angel of Light!"

"Hawkmon armor digivolve to…Halsemon, the Wings of Love!"

"Armadillomon armor digivolve to…Digmon, the Drills of Knowledge!"

ExVeemon stood with the four armored digivolved Digimon.

"It's clear that you have quite a force with you Davis," Ken said, "But I have one additional member I want to introduce to you."

The ground thirty feet from Ken ruptured with snow, ice and chunks of the ground blown from their original spots. What came out of the ground sent a cold chill down TK's, Joe's, Pegasusmon's, and Gomamon's backs as they saw a Digimon that look exactly like the dark Digimon they fought three years ago on File Island.

"No!" TK shuddered in disbelief, "It can't be!" TK started having flashbacks on Angemon's fateful battle against Devimon three years ago on File Island. It was a traumatic experience TK never forgot as he witnessed his witness his Digimon partner use all of his power to defeat Devimon at the cost of his life. Though Patamon was reborn however, TK never completely got over that traumatic experience.

"Can't be what?" Cody asked with a confused tone.

"Devimon!" TK called out as he pointed to the dark Digimon in front of them.

"Close but no," the dark Digimon corrected, "Permit me to introduce myself: I'm IceDevimon! I'm an ice demon Digimon and like my Devimon brethren, I'm a very wicked and sadistic mass murderer."

"Just what we need," Joe remembered cynically, "Another kind of Devimon! As if the first one we fought on File Island wasn't bad enough."

"I'm the type that delights in the pain I inflict on others," IceDevimon replied, "I'm as murderous as I am ruthless, always killing without mercy. The only thing colder than these snow-covered icecap mountains is the blood in his veins!"

IceDevimon was an exact replica of Devimon except his complexion for white and purple. But the cruel and malicious red eyes were just the same as the Devimon's.

"TK," IceDevimon cruelly commented, "I'm going to have you enjoy reliving the memories of you watching your partner die, once again!"

"Damn you!" TK yelled out as his anger got the better of him. He was about to charge forward with Pegasusmon when…

"TK, stand your ground!" Davis warned as he placed his left arm out to stop him and Pegasusmon from charging forward, "Don't let him goad you into losing control of yourself!"

"Mass murder is what I do Davis," IceDevimon remarked, "These arctic mountains will be your gravesite. And speaking of gravesite, this mountain is the very area that became the gravesite of many Digimon I battled and killed. Those Digimon want you to join them Davis!"

"Cody, Yolei," Davis instructed, "Both of you take on and deal with Ogremon. TK, Kari, you both will take on and handle Leomon. ExVeemon and I will handle IceDevimon."

"Why are you taking on IceDevimon by yourself?" TK asked and then suggested, "At least let me help you!"

"TK!" Davis said, "I know your history with Devimon and IceDevimon will exploit and use your traumatic past against you! And if you haven't noticed, IceDevimon isn't wearing a dark ring of any sort like how Leomon and Ogremon are. Meaning that he's not under the Digimon Emperor's control. He's acting and working with the Digimon Emperor out of his own free will! That's makes him the most dangerous!"

"That's just like when DarkLizardmon was sent out to find and try to kill me," ExVeemon recalled, "DarkLizardmon wasn't wearing a dark ring either, but acting on his own free will."

"That's right Davis and ExVeemon," Ken said, "I don't have to enslave and force every Digimon to work with me or for me. There are dark Digimon out there willing to kill and see to your demise if it means power for them!"

IceDevimon then rushed forward into Davis' direction, "Time to die Golden Child!

Leomon and Orgemon charged forward and with their weapon of choice, Leomon had his large sword and Orgemon had his large bone club in hand.

 **"Avalanche Claw!"** IceDevimon yelled as he released a barrage of icicles from his wings.

 **"V-Laser!"** ExVeemon shouted as he fired a powerful yellow energy beam to counter IceDevimon's attack. Both Digimon then took to the air and started a fierce and deadly battle against each other. ExVeemon knew he couldn't allow IceDevimon to live as he would continue to pose as a threat to Davis' life.

Pegasusmon and Nefertimon galloped forward into Leomon's direction while Halsemon and Digmon went after Ogremon. Leomon met up with the pair and…

 **"Sword of the Beast!"** Leomon yelled out as he slashed at them with his sword. The two winged-Digimon fly out of the way and countered attacked.

 **"Cat's Eye Beam!"** Nefertimon shouted as she fired her laser beam attack from her helmet into Leomon's direction. The humanoid lion-type Digimon narrowly dodged the attack before another came at him/

 **"Star Shower!"** Pegasusmon cried out as he hurled meteorite-like energy attacks at Leomon. Leomon was struct a few times from the attack, but still not injured enough to be down for the count.

 **"Fist of the Beast King!"** Leomon yelled out as he fired his attack at Pegasusmon. The armored Digimon flew out of the way before he was stuck, but Leomon leaped into the air after him with his sword in hand.

 **"Sword of the Beast!"** Leomon roared as he made an attempt to slash at Pegasusmon.

 **"Rosetta Stone!"** Nefertimon screamed as she fired a large stone tablet into Leomon's direction knocking him off course and down to the ground. Leomon descended and fell to the snow-covered ground, but he quickly rebounded and shook off the dizziness quickly.

"We have to find a way to destroy those dark rings from off of Leomon!" TK stated.

"That is if our Digimon can get a clear shot at his waist where it's attached to," Kari pointed out.

"I wish there was something we could do to help," Gomamon commented, "I hate that we can only do so much in our situation."

"As much as I'd love for us to help out," Joe replied, "You sustained multiple injuries already and you can't digivolve."

"Perhaps if we search and locate where the Digimon Emperor set up his new control spire and get one of the guys here to take it out it will give me the ability to digivolve to Ikkakumon," Gomamon suggested.

"Great idea! Let's go!" Joe agreed before leaving the scene and going in search of the control spire. Meanwhile, as Kari's and TK's Digimon partner were dealing with Leomon, Yolei's and Cody's partners having their fair share in having problems battle Ogremon. As ugly looking as he was he wasn't as easy to handle even though it was two armored Digimon against one. But like Ken explained earlier, he modified the dark ring to make them stronger and faster than they originally were.

 **"Pummel Whack!"** Ogremon yelled out as she rushed at Digmon to strike him with his bone club in hand. The armored insect-type Digimon however side stepped away from the attack as Ogremon's club strike the snow-covered ground instead. Digmon then aimed and used his next attack.

 **"Ground Cracking!"** Digmon shouted as he plunged his drills into the ground and broke the ground open underneath Ogremon's feet. The viral Digimon lost his balance at he fell straight into the new pit that opened up from under him. Ogremon however gave a loud roar as he freed himself from the prison pit and got himself out of the hole.

"This guy is as hard to battle as he is hard to look at!" Digmon remarked, "While at as equally strong as ExVeemon, for a Champion he's proving to be a headache."

"He's coming at you again!" Cody warned as Ogremon charged at him.

 **"Mach Impulse!"** Halsemon cried out he fired blades of pressurized wind from the wings on his helmet to stop Ogremon in his place. Ogremon turned to the offending armored Digimon and just as he was about to attack the winged Digimon. Halsemon however had other plans.

 **"Eagle Eye!"** Halsemon chouted as he fired two glowing energy arrows from his eyes. Seeing the attack coming his way, Ogremon was about counterattack when Digmon took the opportunity to capitalize on Ogremon's distraction and ram him into straight into Halsemon's attack. This allowed Halsemon's attack to make contact with the viral Digimon and paralyze him. With Ogremon incapacitated, Halsemon made haste to hurriedly finish things off.

 **"Tempest Wing!"** Halsemon called out as he started spinning and forming a tornado in the air. While in the form of a tornado, he quickly rushed and made his way to Ogremon, successfully capturing and trapping him within his tornado. The viral Digimon roared as he was span in circles many times as he was led up into the air. However, Halsemon's previous attack rendered him helpless. Halsemon then threw and launch the tornado away from him with Ogremon still trapped inside of it. The tornado continued spinning Ogremon around before slamming the viral Digimon fiercely into the hardened ice-covered ground, cratering the ground on contact and effectively knocking Ogremon unconscious.

 **"I'll do my part now! Gold Rush!"** Digmon yelled out before firing his roacket drills into the dark ring fastened around Ogremon's arms. The dark ring was effectively destroyed, freeing Digimon from its control and influence. The wounded and unconscious Digimon complexion changed back to his normal green complexion.

"You guys did it!" Cody cheered happily at their success in stopping and freeing Ogremon.

"That takes care of one problem!" Yolei remarked.

"Leaving Leomon and IceDevimon to go," Cody stated.

"TK and Kari and handling Leomon with their partners," Yolei pointed out, "Leaving Davis and ExVeemon to fight against IceDevimon alone."

"Let's head over to Davis and help him deal with IceDevimon!" Cody suggested, with Yolei agreeing without question.

"Guys!" Yolei called out to hers and Cody's Digimon, "ExVeemon is going to need you guys to give him some help-"

 **"Fist of the Beast King!"** Leomon cried out with a warrior outcry as his attack made his way to where Digmon and Halsemon were. The two Digimon narrowly escaped the ambush as it collided with the ground, blowing off huge chunks of ice and gravel from off the ground upon impact. As the two armored Digimon were get their footing down, Leomon came charging in with his sword in hand ready to take a stab at them.

 **"Gold Rush!"** Digmon counterattacked as he launched his rocket drills into the ground Leomon was running on. Leomon quickly leaped high into the air and avoided the attack, but this left him vulnerable and opened to an incoming ambush.

 **"Star Shower!"** Pegasusmon yelled out as he came flying in at Leomon from behind. Leomon tried shielding himself with his sword but it was only able to do so much as his weapon was blasted from out of his hand. Leomon himself was struck a couple of times before crashing down to the ground. Though he was sore and injured, Leomon still had enough strength left in him to keep fighting.

"This guy is a force that won't stop!" Pegasusmon remarked.

"Pegasusmon!" Nefertimon said, "Kari and I will go and help Davis and Draco deal with IceDevimon while you, Digmon and Halsemon finish things with Leomon!"

"I understand," Pegasusmon agreed, acknowledging how much Nefertimon and Kari wanted to aid Davis and ExVeemon, "The rest of us will join you and ExVeemon after we free Leomon from the Digimon Emperor's control."

Nefertimon acknowledged this by nodding her head in agreement before making her way over to ExVeemon. And speaking of that legendary blue dragon Digimon…

 **"Avalanche Claw!"** IceDevimon screamed as he fired a barrage of icicles from his wings into ExVeemon's direction. Seeing the attack coming, ExVeemon summoned DarkLizardmon's power as a means to counterattack the ice demon Digimon as his body began to be completely engulfed in black flames.

 **"Dread Fire!"** ExVeemon roared out as he unleashed a wave of black flames from his body and straight into the path of the incoming barrage of icicles. The two opposite attacks clashed and resulted in an explosion of hot steam and moisture. When the attack cleared, IceDevimon took a moment to study ExVeemon's new appearance.

"I see that you summoned the powers of DarkLizardmon and used that as a means to adapt to the situation here," IceDevimon remarked, "Clever. But that still doesn't mean that you have this fight won!"

"While it's not my Flamedramon form," ExVeemon replied, "It's a suitable substitute I can use to completely burn and melt your ass!"

"Well I have a surprise for you in courtesy of the Digimon Emperor!" IceDevimon retorted, "You're not the only Digimon with enhancements of your own."

"What do you mean?" ExVeemon asked before seeing the wicked smile on IceDevimon's face. The ice demon Digimon clenched his fists as he began summon power into both of his arms. ExVeemon saw how IceDevimon's hands and arms were becoming longer and larger in size until they were big enough to be the size of his body. IceDevi raised his enlarged arms into the air and gloated, "Before coming here, the Digimon Emperor was kind enough to upgrade me with a large amount of data. This is my Enhancement Absorbent form."

"How's that possible?" Davis asked, "You're not a Digimon with the capacity to assimilate Digimon like ExVeemon."

"It's called artificial assimilation," Ken revealed from a distance, "I found a way to decode and break apart data certain types of Rookie level Digimon and utilize their data to enhance Champion level Digimon like IceDevimon. It's very tedious with a lot of strenuous hard work and to really given IceDevimon the needed boost in power, I had required that he used his troop of Icemon to get the job done."

"By troop," Davis asked, "How many Icemon did you sacrifice!?"

"All sixteen of IceDevimon's Icemon minions were needed for job," Ken replied, "Their sacrifice however wasn't in vain as it'll help bring forth your demise!" Turning to the viral Digimon, Ken ordered, "IceDevimon, hurry up and kill Davis and ExVeemon! Give them a proper burial until the ice!"

"As you wish!" IceDevimon agreed as he clenched his huge fists and got ready for his favorite pastime: murder, "Let's get this bloodbath started, shall we?"

IceDevimon took to the air and flew into Davis' direction with the intent of crushing him to death with his fists. ExVeemon, with his black flames still engulfed around his entire body, rushed in to intervene and stop IceDevimon dead in his tracks.

 **"V-Laser!"** ExVeemon yelled as his blasted his yelled energy attack at the viral Digimon. IceDevimon block the attack with his left arm and turned his attention to the blue dragon Digimon. Before he could counterattack…

 **"Rosetta Stone!"** Nefertimon called out as she launched a large stone tablet into IceDevimon's direction. IceDevimon however turned to the incoming flying stone tablet and punched it to pieces.

"What the!?" Nefertimon exclaimed in disbelief, "He punched out my attack like it was nothing!"

Kari came running in to meet up and stand beside Davis. Upon reaching him, Kari asked, "What going on and what's with IceDevimon's arms?"

"The Digimon Emperor gave that dangerous Digimon some new upgrades through what he called artificial assimilation with the data particles of 16 Icemon that IceDevimon sacrificed," Davis explained.

"Artificial Assimilation?" Nefertimon repeated.

"Basically," ExVeemon bluntly remarked, "It's a cheap carbon-copy rip off of my natural assimilation abilities."

"I'll show you what a cheap carbon-copy rip off can do!" IceDevimon threatened menacingly as he flew in and charged at the two Digimon in front of him. He thrust his large right fist out to grab Nefertimon, but she managed to fly out of the way just before IceDevimon could grab hold of her. Seeing this, IceDevimon changed course and flew after her. ExVeemon, seeing the danger his mate was in, rocketed himself after the viral Digimon and readied his attack.

All the while, Joe, with Gomamon in his arms, was hurrying to where TK, Cody and Yolei were. Currently, they finally managed to get the upper hand against Leomon when he got distracted at the sight of Joe and Gomamon and before he could react to them.

 **"Ground Cracking!"** Digmon yelled out as he plunged his drills into the hardened ice ground and fissured it wide and deep enough for Leomon to fall into it. The humanoid lion Digimon tried to grab hold of the ice wall as he fell into the crater Digmon formed.

"Meteor Shower!" Pegasusmon hollered as she fired energy attacks at the wall Leomon was trying to scale, resulting in the lion man Digimon being blown off the wall and further into the frozen fissure. After crashing on his back, Halsemon went in to deliver the finishing blow.

 **"Mach Impulse!"** Halsemon called out as he fired his blades of pressurized wind from the wings on his helmet directly at the upgraded dark ring around Leomon's right arm, destroying it effectively. Leomon, now freed from the Digimon Emperor's control, started changing back to normal with his golden-brown complexion and dark blue pants turning black again. After a brief moment, Leomon soon pulled himself together and looked around to see where he was.

"Where am I? How did I arrive here?" Leomon asked in confusion while feeling that he was put through a fierce and hard battle.

"Leomon!" TK and Joe called out simultaneously, gaining the lion man Digimon's attention.

"Joe! TK! It's been quite a long time," Leomon greeted, "You both grown older since I last saw you both. Thanks for freeing me from the Digimon Emperor's control. I apologize for any harm I might have brought to any of you here."

"Leomon, we don't hold anything that happened against you," Joe assured, "It wasn't your fault. Gomamon and I found the control spire in this region. We'll lead you and the rest of the team here to where it is so it can be destroyed."

"Lead us to this control spire please!" Leomon beseeched before Joe went and did he told them he would do. As that was going underway…

 **"V-Laser!"** ExVeemon called out as he fired his energy attack at the ice demon Digimon. IceDevimon turned and used his two armed to block the attack.

"This is getting old fast!" IceDevimon mocked, "By now you should have realized that your attacks aren't having successful effects on me thanks to the Digimon Emperor's upgrades."

 _'IceDevimon's body is hard to damage and penetrate…even with my Desolation Claw attack!'_ ExVeemon contemplated carefully, _'I'm going to have to find a different and more effective approach to eliminating him!'_

"Draco!" Nefertimon called, "None of our attacks are working against him! Any new ideas on how we can beat this guy?"

"I'm currently working on that Tigress," ExVeemon replied. IceDevimon flew and took to the skies and declared, "ExVeemon, it's disappointing and disgraceful that you've grown to become so weak from who you used to be. You're nothing but a shell of your former glory."

"Shut up!" ExVeemon countered, "You know nothing about me!"

"I know that in the ancient era of the Digital World, it's said that you were the strongest of the royal knights," IceDevimon stated, "I'm finding it hard to believe that someone as weak as you defeated the seven demon lord Digimon all those thousands of years ago."

"The seven demon lord Digimon?" ExVeemon asked, _'Something about them rings a bell somehow.'_

 _'Why do they sound familiar?'_ Nefertimon privately wondered.

"You don't remember them, do you?" IceDevimon chuckled sinisterly, "So it's true that you lost your memories when you were sealed away after that era of the seven demon lord Digimon came to an end."

"Why does that matter to you?" ExVeemon asked.

"Those seven Digimon were the ancient warlords of the Digital World," IceDevimon said, "They brought forth an era of darkness to the Digital World the like of which I could only wish to have seen."

"And since such an era no longer exist means they were defeat by an even stronger force," ExVeemon replied, "That doesn't surprise me at all!"

"My devil Digimon Confederates and I have been looking into your past since it's tied to the seven demon lords," IceDevimon revealed.

Davis and Kari were listening in on the conversation about the seven wicked Digimon they never heard about before.

 _'OK!'_ Davis contemplated, _'This is definitely different from my original adventures in my previous life. Then again, everything that's happened up till now have been different from everything that happened in my previous life. I'm going to have to inquire of Gennai about these seven demon lord Digimon that IceDevimon is talkinga bout.'_

"Davis?" Kari inquired, "Have you ever heard of those Digimon that he's talking about?"

"I can't say that I have," Davis confessed, "But the fact that those seven Digimon were referred to as "demon lords" means that they were _very_ bad news. And if they're anything like Millenniummon then it would be in our best interest to find out why IceDevimon and his confederates are so interested in them and my partner."

Kari nodded her head in agreement.

"IceDevimon!" Ken called out impatiently, "Quit wasting time and finish the job already!"

"All good things come to those who wait Digimon Emperor," IceDevimon replied.

"I waited long enough for Davis' and ExVeemon's demise as it is!" Ken stated, "They're dangerous threats that we need out of the way!"

"Well you're right in that Davis and his partner are threats to our mutual goals," IceDevimon concurred, "So I'll eliminate them now!"

"I may not remember a whole lot about my past," ExVeemon replied, "But hearing that I battled against those seven demon lord Digimon means that I was there sworn enemy and that somehow they were defeated."

"As you know will be defeated, permanently!" IceDevimon mocked.

"Not happening!" ExVeemon said, "It didn't then and it won't now!"

"We'll see!" IceDevimon challenged, **"Avalanche Barrage!"** IceDevimon shouted as she fired an upgraded version of his attack with large ice boulders materializing and being hurling into ExVeemon's direction. The dragon Digimon used his black flame engulfed fist to punch away the large boulders but they were coming at him too fast.

"GET DOWN!" Davis warned as he grabbed Kari and ran with her to avoid the falling boulders coming their way. The couple ran for safety as the large rock-hard balls of ice came crashing down to the ground around them.

"Kari!" Nefertimon called out seeing the danger her partner was in.

"Davis I'm coming!" ExVeemon assured as he flew down with Nefertimon to protect their partners. IceDevimon for his part flew down to the surface quickly as he took in a large gust of breath. With enough breath in his body, IceDevimon fired his next attack.

 **"Arctic Blast!"** IceDevimon yelled out as he blew a powerful blast of wind from out of his mouth and into Davis' and Kari's direction. Davis and Kari were knocked off their feet and away from each other while feeling the freezing wind attack making it difficult for them to move, run and breathe after gradually getting back off the snow-covered ground. ExVeemon and Nefertimon were temporarily knocked off balanced from the unexpected arctic assault from IceDevimon.

"M-M…My sk-skin feels like they're g-g-going to break off my body!" Kari shivered as she desperately tried to warm up her body before hypothermia could set in.

"Kari!" Nefertimon cried in a panic as she flew down to her partner and placed her body around her in order to prove her to body heat. As Kari started warming up, she desperately looked around for Davis. The blast of snow filled wind made it difficult for her to see around her vicinity.

"Where's Davis?!" Kari asked worriedly. For the next minute Kari and Nefertimon looked around for any signs of Davis. Moments later, Davis appeared through the thick snow wind scene looking to be making his way back to Kari.

"Davis over here!" Kari called out to him as she waved him over to her. While that was going on, Halsemon, Digmon and Pegasusmon along with their partners were hurrying over to them. After a long and heated battle with Leomon, they managed to finally subdue him and destroy the upgraded dark ring that was fastened to his right arm, freeing him from Ken's control. Leomon now was following along from behind the group to help where he can. ExVeemon, resorting to using his infrared vision, went in pursuit of getting to Davis. As he made his way to his partner however…

"Avalanche Claw!" IceDevimon shouted with a bloodthirsty outcry as he drove his ice stake deep through Davis' back out of his chest. Everything seemed to how gone in slow motion when everyone eyewitnessed the horror of what just happened. It felt completely unreal to everyone, as if it was a horrible nightmare everyone was hoping to wake up from. Davis vomited blood from his mouth as he looked down to see the blood-covered ice stake that was pierced through his body.

Ken sported the cruelest victorious smile when he saw what just happened.

"DAISUKE!" Kari screamed in horror, shock and disbelief as IceDevimon picked up the ice stake that was still pierced into Davis' body, lifting Davis off the ground in the process.

"Time to Die!" IceDevimon stated darkly and exclaimed, **"Tundra Freeze!"** IceDevimon fired a freezing beam from his eyes and began freezing and encasing the mortally wounded Davis into a solid rock-hard block of ice. Davis futilely struggled to break free but he was rendered helpless as he was completely encased in solid ice.

"NOOOO!" Kari cried tearfully as she free herself from Nefertimon and ran to try to help and save Davis in whatever way she thought she could.

"KARI! DON'T!" TK warned as he run in pursuit to stop and strain her from becoming another casualty to IceDevimon. The ice demon Digimon turned to the Kari and said, "If you want what left of your boy toy, CATCH!" IceDevimon picked up the ice tomb Davis was encased in and threw it with a strong force and speed directly at Kari in his attempt to kill her as well.

Kari gasped in fright when she saw the what was thrown at her. Knowing she wouldn't have enough time to dodge, she fearfully put her ups up to shield herself and braced for the worst. A few short moments before Kari could be struck and instantly killed by the ice tomb however, Nefertimon rushed in and shielded Kari from the ice tomb, taking the full brunt of the attack. The force of the attack was strong enough to force the injured Nefertimon to de-digivolve back to Gatomon.

"Kari! Gatomon!" ExVeemon hurried in after them after seeing what happened. As the tomb landed down a couple of feet from her and Kari, Ikkakumon, Leomon, Joe, TK, Yolei, Cody and the others hurried over to where Kari and Gatomon were.

"NO! DAISUKE! YOU CAN'T DIE! YOU CAN'T LEAVE ME!" Kari cried while weeping audibly and staring with at the tomb with a crushed and heartbroken expression which imprisoned her now dead boyfriend. ExVeemon looked on in confusing and disbelief as he tried to make sense out of what happened. Joe, TK, Yolei and Cody were speechless in disbelief as tears started falling down their faces.

"NO! NO!" Yolei cried tearfully in denial, "This can't be happening! This can't be happening!"

"Davis!" Cody wept lowly as tears ran down his face, "First my father and now you went and died in the same manner as he did!"

TK look at the ice tomb and felt grief, fear, shock, and despair while looking at the Davis' corpse frozen into the glacier in front of everyone. Lowering his head, TK gave way to tears and cried. He recalled how Davis stated that every time he goes to the DigiWorld it could be his last because of the high chances of his possible demise. But every time back then he always defied the odds and likelihood of his demise regardless how dangerous the situation was. After everything they went through and endured, Kari and the others never thought that the Digimon Emperor would somehow win and succeed in killing Davis in the end.

Ikkakumon, Leomon, Pegasusmon, Halsemon and Digmon looked at the scene with grieving expressions. Leomon, having heard about Davis and his reputation in the DigiWorld, knew that Davis' death was a great loss.

"What a joyous great day this has turned out to be. May it go down in Real World and DigiWorld history!" Ken cheered, and stated with a dark inhuman tone, "The chosen golden child of Miracles is dead!"

ExVeemon turned and moved away from the ice tomb and the others who assumed that he went to mourn his partner's demise. They didn't notice that he went back to examine the blood trail where Davis was first stabbed and mortally wounded by IceDevimon.

Meanwhile, Kari saw years' worth of memories of herself and Davis flash through her mind; from the day Davis first introduced himself to her as six-year-olds in in elementary school to the time they decided to date and become an official couple.

"Daisuke…," Kari sobbed lowly, "You were my best and closest friend…You'd have done everything and anything to protect me…I loved you Daisuke just as much as you loved me…"

"The loss of a loved one is truly hard to live with," IceDevimon remarked with a cold tone carry false sympathy, "Living with such pain is truly unbearable for one as fragile as you child of Light. Tell me, do you wish for your pain to cease?"

In that moment of loss, Kari then felt something inside her snap as her grief and heartbreak turned into deadly rage and bloodlust as she stood from the snow.

"I'll kill you! I'll kill you! I'll kill you!" Kari repeated under her breath over and over with her trembling clenched fists. She suddenly turned to face IceDevimon and screamed with hatred and rage, "I'LL KILL BOTH YOU AND THE DIGIMON EMPEROR!"

Kari's D3 flashed and glowed with a bright bloody pink aura that was never seen before by either Kari or anyone else. But this new glowing aura was dark and ominous as Gatomon started gaining strength by feeding into Kari's rage and bloodlust until she bared her fangs and claws out to IceDevimon and the Digimon Emperor, ready to attack and go for blood. Gatomon's eyes went from ocean blue to full scarlet red as she gave out a loud venomous hiss indicating her desire for bloodshed. The other Digimon and DigiDestined moved away from Kari and Gatomon when they saw what was taking place.

"Something's happening to them!" Leomon deduced. Soon, ExVeemon flew back to see what was happening. While hoovering in the air, he looked upon Kari and Gatomon with concern and saw that something bad was going to happen.

"Kari! Gatomon!" ExVeemon loudly warned with concern, "Listen to me! Now would be a good time to get a hold of yourselves and keep your emotions in check!"

"HOW COULD YOU BE SO CALM AFTER WITNESSING WHAT HAPPENED TO DAISUKE!?" Kari screamed at ExVeemon with outrage.

"That's what I'm trying to explain to you!" ExVeemon reasoned, "Because Davis is-"

"No longer among the living!" Ken interjected and stated victoriously, "Davis was a fool to challenge me! I knew it was only a matter of time before his luck ran out and that he would suffer and die by my hands. And what's more, you all got to watch!"

"You won't get away with this murderer!" Kari retorted hatefully, "I'll make you pay severely for this and suffer my wrath! GATOMON, TAKE THEM OUT!"

The same dark bloody pink glow that was around Kari's D3 appeared around Gatomon, filling her with dark energy in loads as her body was fully absorbed into the glow.

"This is bad!" Pegasusmon remarked, "Gatomon is undergoing a most unfavorable transformation!"

"What do you mean?" Cody asked.

"I think I know what Pegasusmon is saying," TK replied knowing what Kari's dark emotions were going to trigger.

"Gatomon dark digivolve to…"

Gatomon's body started growing and shaping itself into a winged humanoid figure, that resembled Angewomon at first. But then it became distorted and took on a dark winged female form that Kari, TK and Pegasusmon recognized much to their horror. When the dark digivolution was done, what stood in Gatomon's place was anything but a welcoming sight to behold, especially for Kari. Her Digimon had the appearance of a dark witch with a big hand with long crimson claws and long black wings that act as a cape. She had glowing crimson eyes and long white hair reaching to the bottom of her back. She was Angewomon's total opposite in every sense of the way.

"LadyDevimon!" the corrupted female Digimon announced as she introduced herself. Yolei and Cody were shocked and frightened by Gatomon's corrupted digivolution while TK looked on in disbelief. Both him and Kari had experienced battling a LadyDevimon who once served as one of Piedmon's soldiers more than four years ago. They would have never imagined that Gatomon could have dark digivolved into the very enemy they once battled and ironically it was Angewomon who destroyed her years ago.

ExVeemon himself couldn't believe the monstrosity that his Digimon girlfriend transformed into.

"Gatomon…," Kari cried with a low and horrified tone and expression, "What I have done to you?"

The Digimon Emperor and IceDevimon laughed loudly and cruelly after witnessing what become of Gatomon.

"I don't think anything good will result from this," Halsemon remarked.

"Ya think?" Digmon replied.

"What a sweet twist of irony!" IceDevimon remarked through his laughter, "Your want for revenge and bloodshed child of Light turned your Digimon partner into the very creature your partner despises! I can't stop laughing!"

"LadyDevimon is an evil version of Angewomon," Pegasusmon explained to Yolei and Cody, "She's also Devimon's female counterpart. But unlike IceDevimon who' a Champion Digimon, LadyDevimon is an Ultimate level Digimon."

"Ultimate or not," IceDevimon replied, "She's a now a nightmare soldier like myself."

"My partner had just about enough of you IceDevimon!" LadyDevimon retorted with venomous hatred, "You murdered Davis, so now she called for your death and that of the Digimon Emperor!"

"You expect me to think I'd let myself be killed by the likes of you?" Ken replied with defiance.

"I wasn't asking for your objection in how you will die here!" LadyDevimon retorted with bloodlust before she flew and charged at Ken with the intent to kill on contact.

"GATOMON! STOP!" Kari cried desperately, "DON'T RESORT TO THIS!"

LadyDevimon didn't respond to Kari's voice as she continued her pursuit of Ken. ExVeemon charged forward after LadyDevimon in an effort to stop her. Seeing the danger he was in, Ken gave a loud whistle signal, resulting in another Digimon to be summoned from out of the ice in front of him. That Digimon turned out to be Seadramon, possessing one of Ken's dark rings about its waist.

"Ice Blast!" Seadramon roared out as it spewed absolute zero breath from its mouth, instantly freezing water that it fired at LadyDevimon. The viral Ultimate Digimon managed to narrowly evade the attack before it could inflict any injury against her.

"Just what we need, more problems!" Ikkakumon remarked after seeing Seadramon.

"I would suggest that we retreat and report to Tai and the others what happened to Davis but we have to deal with this situation first," Joe stated grimly, "Sadly that also means explaining to Davis' family why he died."

"None of us are looking forward to explaining that to the Motomiya family," Ikkakumon commented. ExVeemon was about to give a rebuttal to their comment until he saw LadyDevimon getting ready to fight the newly arrived Digimon that attack her. IceDevimon arrived a moment later to join in to do battle.

The momentary distraction bought Ken some time to make his escape via an Airdramon that flew in from skies.

"Seadramon! IceDevimon!" Ken said as she boarded Airdramon's back, "LadyDevimon is all yours! Do with her as you both wish! Witnessing Davis' demise was more than satisfying enough for me!"

Airdramon roared and flew off into the air away from the icecap mountains with Ken holding on.

"Come back here and die like the spineless coward that you Digimon Emperor!" LadyDevimon screamed in outrage.

"Never mind him LadyDevimon!" IceDevimon said, "You still have unfinished business to settle with me!"

The female fallen angel turned to IceDevimon and retorted, "I'll find and kill the Digimon Emperor after I'm through with you first!"

"We're brethren now," IceDevimon stated, "So why not join me and the mission our fellow fallen angel-type Digimon are endeavoring to-"

 **"Darkness Spear!"** LadyDevimon roared as she interrupted IceDevimon and transformed her left hand into a long sharp spike with the intentions of impaling IceDevimon. Leaped out of the way before her attack could inflict any actual injury to him.

"Despite your corrupted transformation you still wish to do battle with me?" IceDevimon said, "Very well. I suppose I can discipline you into seeing things my way."

"The only thing I'll see from you is your grave!" LadyDevimon retorted before charging at him again. IceDevimon rushed forwards to meeting up with her, commencing their fierce battle with each other. The other Digidestined and Digimon watched the violent yet awkward scene of two demon-type Digimon battle it out against each other in an all-out fight to the death. Blow after blow after punch after kick after power blast attacks the two of them just kept fighting. Meanwhile, ExVeemon was dealing with Seadramon who was proving to be bother to the pure dragon Digimon. The serpentine dragon Digimon rushed at ExVeemon and coiled itself around him in an effort to constrict and squeeze the life out of him tightly.

"I don't have time to waste of you any further!" ExVeemon stated, "I'll wake you from your nightmare!"

Summoning DarkLizardmon's powers, ExVeemon set himself a ablaze, effectively wounding and burning Seadramon as he forced the Digimon off him.

"V-Laser!" ExVeemon roared as he fired his energy attack at the dark ring that was fastened around serpentine water dragon Digimon. The attack successfully struck and destroyed the dark ring that was around Seadramon, freeing him from Ken's control and turning him back to normal. Confused as to what happened and where he was, Seadramon took off and fled the scene in search of the nearest large body of water.

"Now to deal with IceDevimon!" ExVeemon said as he turned his attention to the other back that was happening. When he did however, ExVeemon saw that LadyDevimon wasn't only fighting IceDevimon, she also turned on and was attacking Digmon, Halsemon, Pegasusmon, Ikkakumom and Leomon.

"She tuned into a berserker!" ExVeemon realized, "She sees everyone as her enemy besides IceDevimon! It's time I end this senseless battle and restore order amongst the team!" ExVeemon then concentrated and focused his mind and body, "It's time I see what my assimilation powers can really let me do!" ExVeemon declared as he summoned and combined assimilated powers and strengths of Bakemon, DarkLizardmon, Devidramon, Cyberdramon and Phantomon. When he was ready, ExVeemon felt far stronger than before, as though he activated new upgrades he never knew he had before. When he was ready, he flew in like a jet missile, a speed he never had before in his Champion form. With his new found speed, he flew over to where the battle was taking place. As that was going on…

"Stay out of my fight with IceDevimon!" LadyDevimon warned Digmon and Halsemon, "Otherwise I'll have to hurt you all!"

"Let them join us!" IceDevimon suggested, "That way we'll have higher chances for casualties!"

"You'll be the only causally here IceDevimon!" ExVeemon said from behind the fallen angel Digimon. IceDevimon turned to face ExVeemon. As the dark Digimon was about to attack however, ExVeemon suddenly elongated his right arm and threw a fast and solid hard punch to IceDevimon face. The wicked Digimon was left dazed and disoriented as he didn't expect ExVeemon's new attack.

"I feel like I was struck by a high-level Ultimate Digimon," IceDevimon remarked through his dazed state.

ExVeemon then retracted his right arm and summoned Phantomon's scythe, only his was much larger than Phantomon's original one. With his scythe in hand, ExVeemon then concentrated completely engulfed the blade of the scythe with DarkLizardmon's dark flames. After summoning the powers once belonging to Devidramon, ExVeemon then has his eyes flash into glowing red eyes into IceDevimon's, causing him to look into them, resulting in IceDevimon's paralysis.

 _'I…I can't move!'_ IceDevimon strained, _'Wha…What has he done to me!?'_

The other DigiDestined were watching the scene with ExVeemon play out as he clearly looked ready to finish IceDevimon off.

"NO!" LadyDevimon shouted after seeing from a distance what was happening while she was occupied with Leomon, "IceDevimon is mine to kill, and mine alone!"

She tugged against Leomon and punched him away in order to fly over to ExVeemon. Meanwhile, ExVeemon focused and directed all of his power into his now glowing and burning scythe. IceDevimon was unable to escape as he was still affected by ExVeemon's optical paralysis attack. Looking at IceDevimon, ExVeemon stated, "Your actions here really pissed me off IceDevimon," ExVeemon raised the glowing burning scythe high with both hands and declared, "And now you fry!"

With one swift and mighty swing with his scythe, ExVeemon slashed IceDevimon effectively in two.

IceDevimon screamed from the sheer agonizing pain of being burned and sliced clean in half. Everyone watched as IceDevimon's body then exploded into flames and a pool of data particles. However, ExVeemon didn't allow the IceDevimon's data to scatter into the wind as the pure dragon began assimilating every last bit IceDevimon's data into his body. ExVeemon's glowing body began processing and reformatting IceDevimon's data and powers along with all of the upgrades Ken's gave to IceDevimon through artificial assimilation, permanently fusing them with ExVeemon. In a flash, the assimilation process was complete and IceDevimon was no more.

"He was my kill!" LadyDevimon screeched in outrage as she appeared and hoovered in front of ExVeemon.

"It's over LadyDevimon!" ExVeemon declared, "There's no reason to continue fighting!"

"He was supposed to be mine!" LadyDevimon retorted as she charged at ExVeemon. The Champion blue dragon, not wanting to fight his girlfriend, used his glowing red eyes to paralyze her. LadyDevimon struggled to resist the effects, but before she could finally break free from it, ExVeemon swiftly punched her right in the guts, effectively knocking the breath out of her as she doubled over from the immense pain that ripped through her body.

"I'm sorry Tigress," ExVeemon apologized sincerely before he focused his strength into his right fist and clobbered on the back of her head. The brute forced sent LadyDevimon crashing down into the snow-covered ground, knocking her unconscious and forcing her to revert back to Salamon. Kari quickly ran and retrieved her unconscious partner as she cradled Salamon into her arms.

"Salamon!" Kari tearfully cried, "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"

The others ran over to where he, Kari and Salamon were. Meanwhile, ExVeemon flew off away from the group momentarily as the others went to check on Kari and Salamon.

"How's she?" Yolei asked worried, "I never seen this form of Gatomon before."

"This is Gatomon's Rookie form as Salamon," Kari explained before her tone turned regretful and sad, "That horrible experience as LadyDevimon must her drain her. I caused this."

"It wasn't your fault, Kari," TK assured, "What happened to Davis…I mean…"

TK wasn't able to finish his comment as he was unable to hold back his tears. A moment later, ExVeemon returned and landed down on the ground in front of the group clearly with something he was cradling protectively with care. He knelt down to reveal…

"DAVIS!" Kari screamed happily. Everyone gasped in shock when they and Kari saw that Davis, though unconscious, was zipped inside of a sleeping bag completely unharmed. He also had an oxygen mask placed over his mouth and nose with a canister of oxygen that was placed next to him inside the sleeping bag dispensing the needed oxygen through the mask. Everyone was very happy and relieved that Davis was alive and in good health.

"But how can this be?!" Joe asked in confusion despite being happy that Davis was alive, "We all witnessed IceDevimon stab and froze Davis into that glacier!"

"The "Davis' you guys saw killed and frozen was a robotic copy that Andromon had built for us," ExVeemon explained, "It was the same android clone we used during the Trial By Fire test we gave you guys several weeks ago. At some during IceDevimon's Arctic Blast attack, the android made the switch with Davis after tranquilizing him and securing him inside this warm sleeping with the oxygen tank. The android then hid Davis under the snow before taking his place and getting attacked by IceDevimon."

"You knew all along that Davis wasn't dead!?" Kari asked in shock.

"Not really," ExVeemon revealed, "But I realized something was odd about Davis' blood after he was attacked. That was when I went back to the blood trail and examined it. In doing so, I found that it smelled of motor oil, not human blood. That was when I realized that Davis wasn't dead and that the one we saw stabbed and frozen into ice block was an android copy. I tried to explain this earlier to you and Gatomon but the Digimon Emperor cut me off and provoked your rage further which led to Gatomon dark digivolving to LadyDevimon," looking at Kari, ExVeemon said, "I hope Salamon will forgive me for knocking her out as hard as I did, but in her dark form she wasn't willing to yield or listen to reason as she was attacking all of us."

"She'll understand," Kari assured, "Besides, I'm the reason why she dark digivolved in the first place. So please don't blame yourself for stopping her in the manner that you did. I'm just happy that her and Davis are alright."

"All of us here can say the same," Yolei remarked.

"Davis always talked about how he's a major target to be killed by the Digimon Emperor and his minions," Cody said, "We had a number of close calls with regards to Davis' personal safety."

"It always bothered me how Davis, knowing he's the prime target to be killed, was always so calm and levelheaded about it," TK commented, "And repeatedly Davis even made dark humored jokes about him coming close to death."

"My question is how did that android clone of Davis even know we were out here," Joe asked, which no earned the curiosity of the DigiDestined and Digimon.

"Andromon was the one who dispatched that android to our location," ExVeemon revealed as his answer to Joe's question, "Ever since the Digimon Emperor became more intent of targeting my partner, Davis took several precautions to ensure his survival. One of the major steps he took was requesting Andromon to build an android clone him to have as a stand-in decoy in the event things got too dangerous for him to handle. Each time Davis came to the Digital World he'd inform Andromon about his location and mission objective."

"Clever and ingenious," Cody remarked, "Expect nothing less the school prodigy."

"That explains why Davis was texting Andromon earlier about our location on this mountain and why we were here in the first place," Kari realized.

"In any event," ExVeemon reminded, "We still have that new prison to destroy and those Gazimon to free from the dark rings before we leave from here."

"Ikkakumon, Leomon and the rest of us already took care of those issues after we went to search of the control spire and destroyed it," Joe revealed, "All of the Gazimon were freed from the dark rings and made to apologize for brutally attacking my partner earlier."

"The Digimon Emperor won't be making any use of that prison anymore either," Ikkakumon commented, "Though honestly I wish we kept the prison intact instead of destroying it so we could have incarcerated the Digimon Emperor in it."

"Now there's an idea," a voice said, startling the group when they looked down to see that Davis had regained consciousness.

"Davis you're awake!" Kari exclaimed happily, wanting nothing more than to kiss him right there and then, "How do you feel?"

"A whole lot better since your face was the first thing I woke up to seeing," Davis remarked.

"Davis!" Kari blushed replied with a hot blush on her face.

"He almost dies violently and yet he still makes time to flirt with Kari," Halsemon commented.

"I always make time for people who matter to me," Davis replied, "You guys look like you've seen hell and back."

"A lot happened after we were led to believe you were killed," Cody stated, "It was an unwholesome ordeal for all of us."

"I'm sure it's quite a story," Davis said.

"On all accounts, the Digimon Emperor left here believing he succeeded in having you killed," TK added, "I can't wait to see the look on his face when he finds out that you alive and well."

"Well before that," Davis suggested, "Let's all leave these mountains and find shelter in a warmer town or village."

"No argument from us on that idea," Yolei agreed, as did everyone actually. Davis removed the oxygen mask from off his face and got out of the sleeping bag. After closing the oxygen canister, Davis wrapped up and placed the sleeping back and the small oxygen tank into the duffel back that was originally hidden into the sleeping bay. Like before, the group got into the sled while ExVeemon carried and flew the sled from the mountains and to their next destination.

(Two Hours Later)

Davis and the group had stopped in a European-looking town and settled in one of the restaurants available. While at the table, the group explained to Davis about everything that happened. Davis listened to their story carefully and deeply, especially after hearing how Kari unwittingly caused Gatomon to dark digivolve to LadyDevimon when her age exploded.

"I missed all that while I was knocked out," Davis commented.

"It wasn't one of my happiest or proudest moments," Kari remarked somberly.

"You know Kari," Joe recalled, "Your brother Tai had an experience in accidentally causing Agumon to dark digivolve once before."

"He did?" Kari asked in surprise, "He never told me about that."

"It wasn't one of his proudest moments as team leader," TK spoke in, "I remember being there with the others when Agumon was up against another Greymon who challenged him. They were evenly matched and Tai tried to force Agumon as Greymon to digivolve to Ultimate for the first time. It ended in disaster when Tai caused Greymon to dark digivolve to SkullGreymon, a viral version of Agumon's Ultimate form."

"But unlike LadyDevimon," Gomamon stated, "SkullGreymon was a violent unthinking berserker who couldn't distinguish between friend and foe. He saw everyone as his enemies, DigiDestined and Digimon alike. LadyDevimon knowingly attacked us thinking that we were obstacles in her way in getting to the Digimon Emperor and killing him."

"Things had gotten that out of hand I see," Davis realized.

"We all thought you were killed," Yolei said, "When that happened…I never in my life saw Kari that heartbroken," Yolei turned to Kari and said, "I could only imagine what that traumatic experience put you through."

"It's a place you never want to visit I'll tell you all that," Kari remarked, "Words can't even begin to describe it. It's an experience I wouldn't wish on anyone."

"You talked about the possibility of you being killed by the Digimon Emperor on more than one occasion," Cody recalled as he looked over at Davis, "We had some close calls but today's experience had us convinced that you were killed. We were at a loss in how we were going to break the news to Tai and the others, and your family as well."

"We thought that Trial By Fire test you gave us was cruel of you Davis," Yolei admitted, "But after today, I now understand why you had us go through that test. Fighting Gatomon after she turned into LadyDevimon was like when ExVeemon fought against us. It was just like you said about the possibility that we'd have to fight one of our own one day if the Digimon Emperor did something that caused one of our Digimon to turn on us. It's hard to believe you were right and tried to prepare us for such an unwelcomed possibility."

Kari, while still cradling Salamon in her lap while she was sitting next and close to Davis, confessed, "I felt anger and hate for wicked Digimon like Myotismon and the Dark Masters. But I never in my life felt such anger and hate for one human till now. The agonizing sorrow, hurt and indescribable loss I experienced when I thought that I lost Davis was too much to bear to the point that I wanted nothing more than to see the Digimon Emperor die for what he did, by whatever means necessary. But in the process my dark emotions influenced and corrupted Gatomon, which triggered her dark digivolution into LadyDevimon. Though I was remorseful for what my emotions led to however, there was still that lingering part of me that wanted vengeance against the Digimon Emperor for what he had IceDevimon do. I'm so sorry-"

"It's understandable Kari," Davis assured, "No one here condemns you for what happened."

"I wanted to take a life Davis!" Kari cried with tears now coming down her face, "I know the Digimon Emperor is a fellow DigiDestined and your best friend who tragically fell under the potent influence of Millenniummon's dark spore. But at that moment…," Kari sobbed, "…I didn't care! All I knew at that moment was that he took you away from me…and I wanted him dead because of that! But in the end, my actions only led to Gatomon suffering as she fed off my dark emotions and desires for revenge…Our Digimon were forced to fight her as a result and ExVeemon couldn't reason with her and was forced to knock her unconscious and revert her back to Salamon."

"Please don't cry Kari," Salamon beseeched, having regained consciousness, "I don't blame you for what happened to me."

Kari immediately looked down to see that her Digimon partner had regain consciousness.

"Salamon, you're awake!" Kari said happily and relieved, "How do you feel?"

"Like I finally woke up from a really bad dream I'm happy is over," Salamon remarked, "But like I said earlier, I'm not angry at you for what happened to me. I was just as hurt, saddened and angered by what we saw happened when we thought Davis was killed."

"It understandable that you or anyone else would have felt and reacted the way you did Kari," Davis consoled as he wrapped his right arm around Kari and pulled her close to him, "Naturally as humans, all of us would want retributions for a wicked evil done against any of us or someone we love and deeply care for. There's no telling how I would have reacted if it were a robotic version of you that got killed before finding out you weren't actually killed. If anything, I might have done far worse than you because I would have thought I lost the girl I love.

"So please Hikari, don't think of yourself as a horrible human being because none of us here sees you as a horrible person. My crest of Miracles created your crest of Light and you were entrusted with the responsibility of wielding that crest and power. A horrible person would never be entrusted and given the crest of Light and an angel-type Digimon as their partner."

Kari smiled brightly and rested her head on Davis' shoulder and said affectionately, "Thank you Daisuke. You always know the right words to say to make me feel better."

"Well I am Tokyo's prodigy child for a reason you know," Davis joked with a large grin, only for Kari to snort and nudge him as she replied, "Don't get full of yourself now Davis."

"You're right," Davis remarked and added, "Therefore I'll empty myself and have you fill in my emptiness and complete me."

"I'll fill you with something alright Davis," Kari replied with a teasing tone.

"Will you both quit flirting in front of us please?" TK asked and sighed, "…We're still in public you know."

"Let them be TK," Yolei chided lightly, "After everything we've been through today, let them enjoy their little antics with each other."

(Later That Afternoon; Back In The Real World)

Davis and Kari were sitting in the park bench together. Kari had her head resting on Davis' right shoulder. Before going home, Kari wanted to be alone with Davis without worries or distractions. Veemon decided to stay in the DigiWorld and look after Salamon until she regain her strength and energy to digivolve back into Gatomon. By this time though, Davis had informed Tai and the other older DigiDestined about a very important meeting he wanted everyone to show up to.

Later that day around the evening hours, all of the DigiDestined assembled together, which included Mimi. While New York, she was able to join in through Skipe while being connected through Izzy's computer. After everyone was accounted for, Davis commenced the meeting.

"I see that everyone is now here," Davis started off, "Perfect I'll start this discussion. As you all are aware, I've been leading us in our battles against the Digimon Emperor and a few times I had dangerous close calls. Lately our battles against the Digimon Emperor has gotten fierce and the Digimon Emperor has been making it sadistically clear that he's specifically trying to kill both Veemon and myself while not really caring about you and the others here. Today's expedition in the Dgital World was dangerously too close."

"Exactly what happened?" Tai inquired. Davis, Joe and the rest of the younger Digidestined explained in details everything that happened, from the time Gomamon was ambushed to them to their returned from the Digital World. As the group listened carefully, they were shocked and horrified by the grim events, especially knowing how Davis would have been killed today had it not been for his robotic double taking his place a short time before it happened. They were also shocked by Gatomon's dark digivolution into LadyDevimon which resulted from Kari's dark emotions and want for revenge against the Digimon Emperor for having "Davis" murdered.

"I can't believe what I'm hearing!" Mimi commented through Izzy computer, "How could a Digidestined become so wicked and ruthless?"

"Dark spore or not, the Digimon Emperor is a murderous enemy!" Tai stated as he turned to Davis, "I'm more than tempted to force it out of you to tell us who the Digimon Emperor is Davis!"

"Even if I did spill the beans and reveal the Digimon Emperor's identity," Davis retorted, "What exactly can of you or anybody here do Tai!? Do you and the others plan to track him down and beat the shit out of him?"

"Sounds like a plan!" Tai argued with his voice raised, "For God's sake Davis, this guy is trying to kill you and today he came goddamn close in succeeding!"

"Like I don't know that!?" Davis shot back, "Like I said before, we can't confront the Digimon Emperor in the Real World regardless how much you or anyone else here wants to! If we go after him now he'll cause more trouble and will most likely target you guys as well!"

"Why are you refusing to reveal who he is?!" Tai argued back.

"Because it's what keeping you and the rest of the team here safe for now!" Davis shot back, "Currently, Veemon and I are his only targets, not you guys and one of the reasons why is because Veemon and I know who he is! The Digimon Emperor will become more dangerous and possibly more desperate if his identity is revealed now to all of you! He might lash out and retaliate against you guys in the Real World!"

"That would give us tangible proof to present to the police that he's dangerous and must be arrested!" Tai replied.

"Are you willing to gamble with the lives of your sister and the rest of the team here just to try to find tangible proof that might cost them their lives if the Digimon Emperor's retaliation in the Real World proves to be fatal?" Davis asked, "The Digimon Emperor isn't playing games with us and there's no reset button if one wrong decision as leader on my part gets you or anyone else on here killed. I prefer that I'm the Digimon Emperor's only target instead of any of you guys here. His war is with me, not with any of you."

"Are you serious!?" Mimi asked from the monitor screen.

"A true leader must be ready and willing to protect and die for the team," Davis replied back, "If comes down to me dying to protect all of you then so be it."

"Do you have to talk that way?" Kari asked and added, "You were almost killed today! Doesn't that worry you?"

"It does worry me considerably Kari don't get me wrong," Daviss replied, "But I worry more about you and everyone here. Your safety and that of the other Digimon is one of my top priorities besides trying to come up with a plan to defeat the Digimon Emperor.

"But that doesn't mean that making sure that I myself do things safely and stay safe and protected isn't one of my priorities. Taking the important precautions that I did to ensure my survival is one of the major reasons why I'm still standing here now. I'd be dead now if I hadn't learned from all off our encounters with the Digimon Emperor. I don't underestimate the Digimon Emperor or what he's capable of and I advise all of you here not to do so either, not in the Real World or the Digital World.

"From what I've observed," Izzy noted, "What makes the Digimon Emperor all the more dangerous is that like you Davis, he learns adapt and looks to develop better and more effective methods of making things go his way."

"All the more reason why as leader I strive to stay a step or two ahead him," Davis replied, "It's like playing a deadly game chess until the endgame when I can finally put him in checkmate. But in order for me to do so, I need all of my chess pieces, being my teammates and the rest of you, to be willing to listen and cooperative."

"You're likening this to a game of chess?" Mimi asked.

"It's the best way I can illustrate it to make my point clear to everyone here Mimi," Davis replied, "If you had ever played chess or seen how the game is played before, then you'd know that it's a battle of the analytical minds, a battle of strategies, tactics and being able to plan things out cautiously while trying to stay a step or two ahead of the opponent. That's why I became a chess grandmaster and strive to maintain that title, because it helps strengthen my mind and tactician skills as leader, which led to my survival and all the victories we had against the Digimon Emperor so far up till now."

"When you illustrate it that way it's hard to refute you," Tai remarked.

"Maybe you ought to quit soccer and start playing chess Tai if you want to take back the role as leader again," Matt joked.

"Too late for that Matt," Davis teased, "Tai already traded the soccer ball and uniform for the tennis racket. But I'm sure Sora would agree when I say that Tai got the better prize for it in the end seeing that they're now an official couple because of that."

"DAVIS!" Tai and Sora shouted with embarrassed blushes on their faces as dark as ever.

"Like you didn't serenade Kari earlier today on the school roof with your violin before asking her to become your girlfriend and making out with her," TK thought out loud.

"How do you know about that TK?" Kari asked suspiciously, "Davis never told you or anyone else about that intimate private moment we had. Were you spying on us?"

TK realized his mistake when he saw that he let his thoughts slip from his mouth. But it was too little too late as the damage was done with everyone now looking at him.

"Oh crap! Look at the time!" TK replied nervously with an angry Kari glaring at him, "I have to get back home now. Got basketball practice tomorrow! See you guys later!"

TK quickly exited and left the vicinity in a hurry. Kari was about to chase after him when…

"Let him go Kari," Matt suggested, "You can beat up TK tomorrow in class or before school starts; whichever comes first."

"In any case," Tai said, "It's been a very long day and we can all use some rest to reflect on everything that's happened."

"With that suggestion said I declare this meeting officially over then," Davis spoke up. The group soon broke apart with everyone going their respective separate ways. Tai though decided to walk Sora home while Davis did likewise with Kari. Matt while walking alone pulled out his mobile phone and call Jun up to ask he she was available later tomorrow after school.

(The Following Day; In Tamachi)

It was early and school didn't start yet. Currently, Ken was in class reviewing an academic magazine ranking the top students in Tokyo. He saw that Davis had beaten him again in ranking first place while he, Ken, came in at a close second. Despite this, Ken's smile never faltered while believing that Davis was dead and would soon be reported missing. A moment later, Ken's mobile phone vibrated in his backpack. Seeing this, he went and retrieved his mobile phone and found that the caller ID read "Miyako "Yolei" Inoue" with her smiling face on his phone screen. Smiling, Ken decided to answer the call.

"Hello, this is Ken," Ken answered.

"Hello Ken," Yolei replied happily from the other end of the call, "I just want to say good morning to you."

"Good morning to you too Yolei," Ken greeted, "How is everything with you this morning?" and then thought, _'She's awfully cheerful after what happened in the Digital World yesterday.'_

"Pleasant now that I got to hear from you," Yolei said, "Did you see the latest ranking for academic excellence yet?"

"I'm looking at it right now," Ken said, "Davis beat me again. I was sure I had him coming in second this time around. Were you helping him behind my back Yolei?"

"Ha ha, very funny Ken," Yolei replied, "Davis is just a natural born genius like you Ken. Speaking of Davis, is there a chance you and him will have another go at it in a chess tournament?"

"Not any time soon," Ken said, "I haven't been practicing chess for a while now I admit. I've been busy with everything else."

"That's too bad," Yolei teased, "I suppose it can't be helped. Well I gotta go and meet up with Davis and the others at school now. They're waiting for me still."

" _Davis_ and the others you say?" Ken asked carefully.

"Unless I spoke another language then yes," Yolei replied, "Kari already texted me saying that her and Davis are wondering if I'm going to make it to school today. Can't keep them waiting too long. Please call me later."

"I will," Ken replied, "Have a good time at school. Bye sweetie!"

"Bye!" Yolei chimed happily from the other end of the call before hanging up, leaving Ken with his thoughts. And with regards to Ken's thought, they were dark and filled with disbelief and rage.

 _'Davis is still alive!?'_ Ken contemplated, _'I was sure he was killed! I and everyone who were there saw him fatally stabbed and frozen to death by IceDevimon! How could Davis still be alive!? It doesn't make any sense! How could this be possible!?'_

Ken didn't have much time to wonder about that further as his classmates started entering the classroom. Later that day, Ken planned on heading to the Digital World to investigate Davis' survival and find out how and where his plan went wrong.

 **Ken plan to be rid of Davis didn't happened as he had anticipated and he learns what went wrong, what will he scheme next? Davis and his teams will face new challenges and enemies. Find out what new dangers awaits them.**


End file.
